January 2020
Greetings!
 
Here we are in the early days of a new month, a new year, and (depending on which mathematicians you ask) a new decade. Certainly this is a time for reflection, if ever there was one. Through the experience of our own lives as well as what we read and see on the news, we all know that life can be joyful and sad, ugly and beautiful, all at once. As we embark on a new moment in time, I hope members of the Manna community like you take comfort in the fact that we are part of what is good and right in the world.
 
I am grateful for all of you, every single day. Because of the generosity and hard work of our donors, volunteers, and staff we touched the lives of 34,250 people last year. We opened a market space in East County , renovated our warehouse , rescued and repurposed food at a community kitchen, shared the stage with Chef Jose Andres to promote awareness of food activism, and opened a new distribution site at Gaithersburg Middle School , just to name a few highlights. The direct work we do here is so important, and we couldn’t do it without your support.

Already this year I’ve had the opportunity to offer tours of our revamped warehouse including hosting more than 600 runners for the MCRRC New Year’s Day 5K . It makes me really proud to be able to share with those who make our work possible the new layout and equipment the warehouse team came up with and to watch visitors’ faces light up when they see the space. On the day you are reading this, our Silver Spring market and training room are likely bustling with neighbors seeking food and skills.

In a distracted age that values speed and reaction, we must remember the importance of quality and intention. That’s why we at Manna are looking as these first few months of 2020 as a Time to Refine . We are honoring all that we’ve achieved and all the community has invested in us, while continuing to improve our process, test our concepts, and receive the responses the community has to our innovations. In that spirit, I hope you will reach out to me if you want to see the new spaces or give me feedback on the experiences you are having with them.
  
Ending hunger, it’s what we do…with you!
With thanks,
‌
Jackie DeCarlo, CEO 
Join Volunteers & Elected Leaders Across Montgomery County
Manna is hosting our annual Dr. MLK, Jr. Service Weekend Food Drive next weekend - January 18th & 19th - at Giant stores across Montgomery County.

We are pleased to have more than a dozen elected leaders pitching in to help bring awareness to food insecurity and help collect food donations with Manna volunteers.

Click HERE to volunteer for a Saturday or Sunday shift- we particularly need volunteers for SUNDAY shifts & at the Giant in Burtonsville .
Do You Know A Hero?
Award Nominations Close January 15th
At Manna Food Center’s annual Heroes Against Hunger Awards Reception, we recognize community champions in the fight against hunger in three categories – Individual Hero, Corporate Hero & Community Hero.

The award winners, nominated by you and chosen by Manna’s Board of Directors, demonstrate a true passion for fighting hunger and feeding hope in Montgomery County.   

Featuring delicious food, a dynamic silent auction and a short, meaningful program, this year’s reception, planned for late April, will be the best to date. Nominate our community heroes and make plans to join us!  

Submit a nomination today!  Self nominations are encouraged. The deadline to submit a nomination is midnight on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 . Award recipients will be notified in early February. If you have any questions, e-mail  Mardia  
Youth Hockey Fights Hunger
Boardmember Matt Keene was inspired to help his son, Charlie, start a fall food drive at Montgomery Youth Hockey Association (MYHA).

Twenty-eight different MYHA teams participated and together they collected over 750 items, weighing more than 900 pounds . The winner of the pizza party was Peewee House Team #4, the Jolly Green Giants . Runners-up were the 12U Girls and 14U UA Blue.

These three amazing teams combined donated over 30% of the total food collected. Thank you, MYHA, for your hard work and generosity!
Here's to a Healthy New Year
New Year's Resolutions have become a phenomenon in the 21st century. Some people love them, others hate them, and some don't even know what day of the week it is. No matter how you feel, here are some healthy habits you can pick up anytime of the year.

  1. Mindful Eating- Take time to slow down and pay attention to your food. This will not only allow you to savor the food you're eating but will also allow you to identify when you feel full.
  2. Stay Hydrated- Thirst is often confused for hunger. Try keeping a bottle of water with you wherever you are and drinking it when you feel hunger. If the feeling of "hunger" goes away then you know it could have been thirst; if not go ahead and eat.
  3. Incorporate Colors- Colorful fruits and veggies have many of the vitamins and minerals that we need to keep sickness and disease at bay.
  4. Cook at Home- Not only will you save money by cooking at home, but you also get to control what is in your food. When we eat out or order in we don't know or get to choose where the ingredients come from, how they get prepared, or what else gets added to it.
Coconut Chickpea Stew
Ingredients:
  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil (or olive oil)
  • 1 large Onion (finely diced)
  • 4 Garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 medium section of Ginger (peeled, grated and minced)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Curry Powder
  • 14.5 ounce can Full Fat Coconut Milk or lite
  • 14.5 ounce can Tomatoes, crushed
  • 14.5 ounce can Chickpeas, aka, Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups brown rice (cook ahead of time)

Directions
  1. Heat a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and let sizzle. Add onions and let cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in salt, pepper, and curry powder.
  2. Add coconut milk and crushed tomatoes. Turn down heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and continue to cook for 5 minutes longer, stirring often. 
  3. Remove from heat and combine with precooked brown rice.
Available Volunteer Opportunities 
Want to be a Manna Market Volunteer?
12301 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring

We are currently scheduling individuals to volunteer as Market Volunteers   and Market Reception Volunteers. We are in need of volunteers for weekday and weeknight shifts.
 
Market Volunteers  will help our participants in the market and assist in restocking shelves.  Volunteer must be 16 or older. This opportunity is now open to small groups (up to 5 volunteers) during the daytime!

Market Reception Volunteers  will primarily help to greet and check-in participants.  Volunteer must be 18 or older and be able to commit to a weekly schedule.
  
Warehouse Reception
9311 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg

Monday thru Friday
9-12pm and 12-3pm 

Be the welcoming face of Manna! Help welcome and direct guest at Manna’s Gaithersburg warehouse including people picking up food for schools and participants, and individuals coming for meetings. Volunteers will also receive food donations and well as the mail and other packages.
 
We may ask volunteers to help with administrative tasks that arise from time to time. 
 
The amount of work can fluctuate and there can be down time when you are not assisting guests. So you would be welcome to bring another activity with you such as something to read, or a crossword puzzle etc. 

12301 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring

Bi-lingual Spanish, French, Amharic & Haitian skills are a plus. 

Office volunteers (18 years of age or older) support our referral program which enables participants/clients to receive food from us. Volunteers receive referral information by phone, fax, and email and input it into our participant database. This allow us to determine how many boxes need to be prepared each day and create a sign-in/out sheet for participant pick-up.

We are currently looking for daytime volunteers.

Nutrition Volunteers
Manna's free nutrition programming makes crucial health information more accessible to communities in need. You can help fight hunger and learn new skills as a nutrition education volunteer!

Food Runners
Join Community Food Rescue (CFR), Montgomery County's network for food recovery. Help deliver rescued food to area shelters.
 
Learn how you can help feed more and waste less at  communityfoodrescue.org .
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Donors
We extend a warm and sincere THANK YOU to all of the organizations and businesses that have donated food and funds between November 16, 2019 - December 15, 2019.

Without your incredible generosity, we would not be able to feed families in our community. 
Abraham/Lewis Charitable Fund
Advanced BioScience Laboratories
Adventist Healthcare Rehab Takoma Park
Adventure Zone
Amazon Smile
American Office
Architectural Ceramics
Arden and Ellen Baker Trust
ASBMB
Aspen Hill Club
BECO Management
Benjamin Banneker M.S.
Bethesda Central Farmers' Market
Bethesda Co-Op
Bethesda Country Day School
Bethesda Lacrosse Association
BioReliance Corp.
Blue Corona Interactive
Box Associates Limited Partnership
Boy Scout Troop #434
Briggs Chaney M.S.
Brookmont Church
Cabin John Citizen Association
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church
Campaign to Elect Robert Wu
Capital Area Food Bank
Capital Quilts
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Central Farm Markets at Westfield Montgomery Mall
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
Children's Manor Montessori
Chinese Christian Church of Greater Washington DC
Chinmaya Mission Washington Regional Center
Christ Episcopal Church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Church of the Messiah
Church of The Redeemer
City of Gaithersburg
City of Rockville
Clarksburg E.S.
Clarksburg H.S.
Clearspring E.S.
Clinton AME Zion Church
Club Pilates North Bethesda
Congregation Or Chadash
DC Metro Sai Samsthan
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc./Mo.Co Alumae Ch.
Dick and Jody Vilardo Foundation
Dr. Charles Drew E.S.
Dr. Sally K. Ride E.S.
Dream Wizards
Environmental Mgmt. Services, Inc.
Evidera
FDA
FDA/HHS
Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC
Fields Road E.S.
First Fruits Farm
Fitzgerald Hyundai Rockville
Flower Valley E.S.
Folk'n Great Music
Fox Hills West Community
Franklin Schools
Georgetown Village Condominiums
Giant Food, Inc.
Global Mission Church
Gold Crust Baking Co Inc
Goshen 4-H Club
Grace United Methodist Church
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Greek Orthodox Church of St. George
Greg Gannon Food Drive
Harris Teeter
Harry Gudelsky Enterprises, LLC
Harvest of Rockville
Health & Human Services
Hermon Presbyterian Church
Howard & Jacqueline Chertkof Foundation
Hughes United Methodist Church of Wheaton
IBBR University of Maryland
Immunomic Therapeutics Inc
Insurance One Group Inc.
Inter-Faith Chapel Mission Committee
Jesus is Lord Church
Julius West M.S.
Kaiser Permanente
Kay Family Foundation
Kids After Hours, Inc.
KinderCare
KS Kuts
Larry E. Paul Certified Financial Planner
Laytonsville Lion's Club
Leisure World
Lifechurch of Maryland
Lions Club of Olney Foundation, Inc.
Long & Foster Realtors
Luxmanor E.S.

Maryland Matters Staff
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Mass Mutual Greater Washington
Massuage Associates
MBN Condo
Memorial First India United Methodist Church
Metropolitan Maryland ARMA Chapter
Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union
Mill Creek Towne E.S.
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Department of General Services
Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services
Montgomery County Department of Parks
Montgomery County Fleet Management Services
Montgomery County Master Gardeners
Montgomery County Office of Intergovernmental Relations
Montgomery County Public Libraries
Montgomery County Road Runners
Montgomery Faith Fellowship
Montgomery Knolls E.S.
Moskowitz Chiropractic
MYHA
NIKA
Norman's Farm Markets
Old Georgetown Village Condos
Olney Ale House
Olney Farmers & Artists' Market
One Kick Martial Arts
Osher at Johns Hopkins University
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Pack #464
Parkside Condominium
Patient First
Peake Releaf
Penzey Spice Company
People's Community Baptist Church
Pepco Engineering
Pine Crest E.S.
ProAction Physical Therapy
QIAGEN
Radnet/CRA
RE/MAX
RegenxBio Inc.
Response Tech
Richard E. and Nancy P. Marriott Foundation, Inc.
Richard Montgomery H.S.
Ritchie Park E.S.
Rockville Farmers' Market
Roots
S. Christa McAuliffe E.S.
Safeway
Sages on Pages Book Club
Saint Mark Presbyterian Church
Sanders Foundation
Schnabel Engineering
Seneca Whetstone Ladies Book Club
Seven Locks Baptist Church
Shaare Torah
Sheehy Ford Lincoln of Gaithersburg
Sigma Tau Pharmaceuticals
Silver Spring Presbyterian Church
Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, Inc
St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church
St. Raphael Catholic Church
State of Maryland
Stonegate E.S.
Streamside Apartments
Sunflower Bakery
Taiwanese Presbyterian Church
TD Charitable Foundation
Temple Beth Ami
Temple Emanuel
The Cleaning Authority
The David Anonow Foundation, Inc.
The Grand Apartments
The Master's Holy Mountain Embassy
The Opportunity Shop of St. John's Church
Tilden M.S.
Town of Somerset
Trader Joe's
Travel And Transport Inc
Troop & Pack 1794
United Healthcare Services Inc.
Unity Christ Church of Gaithersburg
Village of Martin's Additions
Walker & Dunlop, LLC
Wayside E.S.
Wegmans
Whole Foods Market
Whole Kids Academy
Woodley Garden Club
Woodmont Country Club
Zipin Amster & Greenberg LLC



If you're interested in donating food, making a financial contribution, or volunteering, please contact us at 301-424-1130 or  info@mannafood.org .

Manna Food Center Office & Market
12301 Old Columbia Pike
Suite 200
Silver Spring, MD 20904 

Manna Food Center Warehouse
9311 Gaither Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20877


Remember to support Manna through your workplace giving campaign.

United Way # 8846 - CFC # 23028 
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Manna Food Center | 2020