FRESH NEWS April 2018
Monthly News from MANNA FoodBank
Happy Volunteer Appreciation Week!
This past week was Volunteer Appreciation Week! We are happy to recognize the special, daily efforts of our world-class volunteer corps!
It's no secret: Volunteers are the heartbeat of everything MANNA does! Each week, hundreds of volunteers get busy in our volunteer center, on our Food Helpline, and on the road driving across Western North Carolina to ensure that we continue the flow of food to over 107,000 people in our area currently experiencing hunger.

This extraordinary dedication is what makes it possible to move over 39,500 meals-worth of food, every single day of the year.

Do you know a MANNA volunteer? Take a moment today to send them a note, thanking them for their support of our entire community. The hands of thousands of volunteers are moving millions of pounds of food every year to ensure that we all have access to this basic need, in the moments when we need it most.
Seasons of Grace:
Planting Hope & Feeding the Community
Growing Hearts & Hope
There’s something growing at the Swannanoa Correctional Facility for Women. Set against the backdrop of a gorgeous range of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small plot of freshly tilled dirt is receiving some special attention. The planting season has started, and for the second year, inmates at the facility will be growing fresh fruit and vegetables—this season will features crops of tomatoes, sweet peppers, corn, okra, melons, greens, turnips, and more. This garden will once again provide fresh produce that the women at the correctional facility would otherwise not have access to. But even more, these inmates donate their excess crops to MANNA, so that we can share their bounty with individuals and families that don’t have enough food to provide for their daily needs.

Plant A Row for MANNA!
MANNA FoodBank invites gardeners in the region to join us in the work to end hunger in WNC by participating in the Plant a Row Campaign.
Initially launched by the Garden Writer’s Association, Plant a Row is a program that encourages local gardeners and grower networks to either plant extra produce in their garden specifically designated to share with neighbors in the community experiencing food insecurity, or to reach out when there is excess harvest to share. 

Photos courtesy of Heirloom Hospitality Group
It's a WIN-WIN Proposition!
Help MANNA feed WNC: Enter to win a Table for Three!


Table for Three is MANNA FoodBank’s partnership with Asheville’s nationally recognized independent restaurant scene. Enter to win an incredible GRAND PRIZE: Dinner for two at 52 of the Asheville area’s top restaurants! That’s a year’s-worth of dining out.

The best part is that each ticket supports MANNA’s vital work to provide food to WNC families struggling to make ends meet. With every ticket sold, MANNA can provide enough food to feed one person a daily meal… for an entire year. That’s why we’re calling it Table for Three!

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
ALOHA from the SWANNANOA!!!
MANNA's favorite "party for a purpose" is BACK for it's 19th year! The Blue Jean Ball is the biggest benefit in WNC, with a sell-out crowd of 1,000!

This year's theme is a luau! So get your sunglasses, bright tropical prints, and your grass skirts ready to welcome summer to the mountains, island style!

The party happens right on MANNA's campus, and features all you can eat from over 20 top local chefs, and all you can drink at our beer and wine bar courtesy of Empire Distributing!

COMING SOON:
The ROTARIANS AGAINST HUNGER Meal Packing Event!
Save the date for Saturday, May 5!
Join over 700 volunteers for a high-energy, one day meal packing extravaganza! Visit the Rotarians Against Hunger website for more details, and to join the effort!

COMING SOON:
STAMP OUT HUNGER with the National Association of Letter Carriers Annual Food Drive
Save the date for the upcoming Stamp Out Hunger food drive, happening May 12! Leave a bag of nonperishable food donations at your mailbox, and your local letter carrier will collect it to help provide food to over 100,000 people in our area who don't know where they will get their next meal.
Kids Making an Impact in the Fight Against Hunger:

The 2018 Student Food Drive Raises Over 53,000 Meals for People In Need in WNC!
The 2018 annual Student Food Drive is all wrapped up, and already people across our region are receiving the food they need as a result of the hard work of students from 30 schools from across MANNA’s 16 county western North Carolina service area.

Here are this year’s winners for the Student Food Drive:

GIFTS, AWARDS + RECOGNITION
We would like to take the opportunity to thank the following organizations for their support in the daily efforts of thousands of individuals in our region to address hunger for over 100,000 of our neighbors across western North Carolina:
Community Foundation of WNC
Our heartfelt thanks to the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina's for supporting our daily food distribution efforts. Their support helped to provide 70,000 meals to the 1 in 6 people and 1 in 4 children in WNC who don't know where they will get their next meal.
TD Charitable Foundation
An incredible investment of support from TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, has helped provide a wonderful gift: 175,000 meals-worth of food delivered to families across our 16 county service area. Thank you, TD Charitable Foundation!
Wells Fargo Foundation
Thanks to Wells Fargo, MANNA was able to provide 35,000 meals-worth of food to people experiencing hunger right here in our region. This support is vital, as we work to stretch every resource to provide the meals that our neighbors lack to meet their basic needs.
Community Foundation of Henderson County
We are so grateful to the Community Foundation of Henderson County for their support of our food distribution efforts in Henderson County.

Their support this year is helping us provide 70,000 meals-worth of food support for Henderson County residents facing hunger.
Food Lion Feeds WNC
Food Lion continues to help feed families across WNC through their Food Lion Feeds program. Thanks to their efforts, we are able to provide more food, and more support for our nutrition efforts, to the people we serve.
As we continue to work towards our vision of a hunger-free WNC, we are building a community of individuals that are interested in taking action steps towards supporting anti-hunger initiatives. In order to focus these efforts, we want to know:
Would you like to receive emails related to hunger advocacy actions in WNC?
Yes
No
If you answered yes, we will add you to an email list dedicated to local and regional hunger advocacy actions. Thank you for your compassion for the work to end hunger for more than 100,000 people in Western North Carolina.

MANNA FoodBank is a non-partisan nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing information about hunger and the issues that affect the people we serve.
Give. Volunteer. Advocate.