Monthly News from MANNA FoodBank
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Voter Advocacy
A Chance to Change the Future
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MANNA is a place where people from all backgrounds and experiences come together to unite in a singular mission: ending hunger in WNC. As a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to highlighting and advocating for the issues that affect the people we serve, we recognize the level of community support required to accomplish our mission, and invite everyone to be part of our advocacy efforts.
We are proud to be part of a united community focused on filling empty plates across WNC, the state, and the nation. One of the most effective ways we can all take action to support this mission is through voting, because
exercising your right to vote is one of the best ways to fight hunger here at home, and for our fellow citizens everywhere.
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As election season approaches, we’ve been helping register people to vote as part of our Voter Advocacy initiative. Thanks to a wonderful partnership with Democracy NC - a nonpartisan nonprofit that helps NC citizens exercise their right to vote - and Feeding America, we have worked to provide opportunities for our clients to register to vote at food distributions. Making this available to the people we serve is vital. We see firsthand how the working families we serve have to juggle so many daily tasks just to get by; hosting voter registration at a food distribution means they can get the food their family needs, and sign up to participate in our democracy.
“The reason that voting and voter engagement is so important, here in Western North Carolina, is because the decisions our elected officials make really do affect our everyday lives," says Hannah Randall, CEO of MANNA FoodBank. "That’s why we’re focused on voter engagement."
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At a recent food distribution, we registered Mr. Abshire, a 63 year-old resident of Leicester who has never voted or registered to vote. As one client says, “finding the time to go register to vote, finding a place to do it is sometimes a problem, because it’s not always right there”.
By registering clients at partner agencies, we are able to make sure we are giving voice to people who matter to us and our mission. It is important to us that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that populations affected by hunger and food insecurity have the opportunity to vote for people who are going to influence legislation that will better their livelihood.
As Brittany Jones, a client of Fairview Community Center, said,
“The future is uncertain. If you vote, then maybe you can change the future.”
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Become An Advocate and Fight Hunger
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With 2020 being a national election and census year, there will be many important decisions to make regarding hunger and food insecurity. To stay informed and to become part of the community engaging in "calls to action," please consider joining our Advocacy Newsletter below.
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Are You Registered to Vote?
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Not sure if you're registered to vote in the upcoming primary, local and general election? Take one minute to check by clicking the button below!
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Your Dollar Now Goes Further Than Ever at MANNA!
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We are delighted to announce that for every $1 donated to MANNA,
you are helping provide
4 meals
to our neighbors across WNC.
Accomplishing this milestone would not be possible without the support of the incredible WNC community. Through the hard work of our volunteers, the dedication of our food donors, and the organizational commitment to carefully stewarding every donor dollar so that it is used to its maximum potential, we are now able to provide more with every donation made.
Thank you for your continued support as we work daily to fill thousands of plates with the food we all need to live and thrive.
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The 2018/2019 Annual Report
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The numbers are in, and the 2018/2019 MANNA FoodBank Annual Report is here!
Thanks to our incredible volunteers, partner agencies and donors, we were able to distribute
19.8 million pounds of food in the 18/19 fiscal year.
Read through the
Annual Report to find out how your support made so many meals possible to the people we all serve together!
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GIFTS, RECOGNITION + ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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This year, we are proudly formalizing our partnership with local businesses who engage with MANNA in three important, mission-focused activities:
Financial donations, food drives, and volunteerism!
We'd like to thank the following organizations for their dedication in the fight to end hunger in WNC during 2019.
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If you are interested in becoming a Full Plate Partner, please contact our Corporate Relations Manager, Olivia Onderlinde: OOnderlinde@MANNAFoodBank.org.
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The Walmart Foundation
Thank you to Walmart Foundation for helping fund the following initiatives:
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Thanks to
The Dairy Alliance we have been able to purchase our "Dairy Express" delivery van, so that our partner agencies have access to dairy products.
Additional thanks goes to
Milk PEP for helping provide us with funds to purchase milk for our partner agencies to distribute.
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Special thanks to the following companies for their awesome support over the 2019 holiday season! With their support, we were able to provide more meals to WNC families this year.
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We want to thank the following groups and organizations for their efforts in collecting food drive donations to help fill the plates of our neighbors across WNC:
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- 10 Newbridge Apartments: 44 lbs.
- A-B Tech Student Government: 110 lbs.
- Asheville Speed Dating: 84 lbs.
- Beauty Bin & Wine Design: 46 lbs.
- Black Mountain Neuro-Medical Treatment Center: 64 lbs.
- Charles George VA Medical Center: 252 lbs.
- Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff: 194 lbs.
- Christie’s Lighting Gallery: 172 lbs.
- Farm Burger: 940 meals
- Glenn Arden Elementary - Pack 73: 160 lbs.
- Glenn C. Marlow Elementary: 402 lbs.
- GreenHands Healing Center: 346 lbs.
- Hawthorne at Southside: 144 lbs.
- Hawthorne at the Peak: 146 lbs.
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- Humana: 114 lbs.
- Kearfott Corporation: 2,464 lbs.
- Leadership Asheville Forum: 25 lbs. & 1,000 meals
- Merry Forest Animal Hospital: 1,084 lbs. & 80 meals
- Mountain View Apartments: 210 lbs.
- NC Office of the Governor: 263 lbs
- Owen Middle School: 240 lbs.
- Parkway Crossing Apartment Homes: 162 lbs.
- Pong AVL: 8 lbs.
- South College: 332 lbs.
- UNC Asheville: 28 lbs.
- Upwards Dental: 218 lbs.
- Vineyard Vines: 30 lbs.
- West Asheville Playschool: 404 lbs.
- Wicked Weed/Holiday Hootenanny: 232 lbs.
- White Labs: 102 lbs.
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Your Voice Matters:
Advocate for those experiencing poverty.
MANNA's mission is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger, and an important part of this mission is advocating for those living in and experiencing the effects of poverty.
As a non-partisan organization, dedicated to sharing information about the issues affecting the people we serve together, MANNA does not endorse political parties or candidates. We simply ask people to work with our elected officials to make legislation that works for us all, and makes our region, our state, and our country stronger from the ground up.
If you are interested in receiving advocacy-related emails from MANNA FoodBank, please click the button below. By clicking here, you are signing up to receive information from MANNA about ways you can use your voice, and actions you can take, to help work towards our vision of a hunger-free Western North Carolina.
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Give. Volunteer. Advocate.
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