MANNA FOOD BANK INC

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW MANNA FOODBANK CARRIES THE HONOR AND WEIGHT OF RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING THE SOLE FOOD BANK SERVING WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE QUALLA BOUNDARY. WE PROCURE AND DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO MORE THAN 220 NONPROFIT PARTNER AGENCIES, 100 SCHOOLS, AND DIRECT TO NEIGHBORS THROUGH COMMUNITY MARKETS. OUR SERVICE AREA ENCOMPASSES 6,434 SQUARE MILES, INCLUDING MANY RURAL AREAS AND UNDERFUNDED COMMUNITIES WITH HIGH RATES OF FOOD-INSECURITY. THEREFORE, TO ENSURE THAT THOSE IN NEED RECEIVE FOOD, WE DELIVER TO THE MOST REMOTE LOCATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS. THE COUNTIES MANNA SERVES INCLUDE MANY COMMUNITIES IN RURAL, UNDERFUNDED AREAS, BUNCOMBE, CHEROKEE, CLAY, GRAHAM, HAYWOOD, HENDERSON, JACKSON, MACON, MADISON, MCDOWELL, MITCHELL, POLK, SWAIN, TRANSYLVANIA, YANCEY COUNTIES AND THE QUALLA BOUNDARY. AT MANNA, WE FOCUS ON FOOD FOR TODAY, FOOD FOR TOMORROW, AND FOOD FOR A LIFETIME. WE RESPOND TO IMMEDIATE HUNGER NEEDS, STRENGTHEN ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND WORK TOWARD LASTING CHANGE SO THAT EVERYONE CAN COUNT ON A STEADY SOURCE OF NOURISHMENT. EVERY PART OF OUR WORK, SOURCING FOOD, SUPPORTING PARTNERS, AND LISTENING TO OUR NEIGHBORS, IS CENTERED ON HELPING PEOPLE THRIVE. NUTRITIOUS FOOD DISTRIBUTION DURING FY 2024-2025, MANNA DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 21 MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. MORE THAN 70% OF THE FOOD THAT MANNA DISTRIBUTED WAS CLASSIFIED AS 'HEALTHY STAPLES' WHICH CONSISTS OF ITEMS LIKE WHOLE GRAINS, PROTEINS, DAIRY, FRESH/FROZEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 2025, MANNA'S OVERALL DISTRIBUTION NETWORK, INCLUDING PANTRIES, MEAL SITES, AND SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMS, RECEIVED AN AVERAGE OF 190,000 VISITS EACH MONTH FROM NEIGHBORS SEEKING EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE. EACH VISIT REPRESENTS A HOUSEHOLD COMING TO ONE OF THESE SITES FOR GROCERIES OR A MEAL. THIS REFLECTS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF NEED MANNA HAS EXPERIENCED IN ITS 40+ YEAR HISTORY. SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF MANNA'S INVENTORY IS SOURCED DIRECTLY FROM REGIONAL FARMS. PURCHASING LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE AND PROTEINS STRENGTHENS FOOD ACCESS WHILE SUPPORTING RURAL ECONOMIES. THROUGH THE LOCAL FOOD PURCHASE ASSISTANCE PLUS (LFPA+) PROGRAM, MANNA PURCHASED MORE THAN 650,000 POUNDS OF LOCALLY GROWN FOOD FROM FARMERS AND FOOD HUBS ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AT FAIR MARKET RATES. THIS INVESTMENT EXPANDED ACCESS TO FRESH, NUTRITIOUS PRODUCTS AND DEEPENED RELATIONSHIPS THAT NOW CONTINUE THROUGH THE ESSENTIAL FOODS INITIATIVE. THE 2024 BUNCOMBE COUNTY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS GRANT FURTHER DEMONSTRATED THIS COMMITMENT BY FUNDING PRODUCE PURCHASES FROM HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED FARMERS FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ACROSS BUNCOMBE COUNTY THROUGH PARTNER AGENCIES AND COMMUNITY MARKETS. TOGETHER, THESE EFFORTS IMPROVED ACCESS TO NUTRIENT-DENSE FOODS FOR FAMILIES WHILE KEEPING FOOD DOLLARS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND HELPING SMALL FARMS REMAIN VIABLE. SNAP ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR REDUCING HUNGER. SNAP HELPS INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WITH LOW INCOMES AFFORD NUTRITIOUS FOOD, REDUCING HUNGER AND IMPROVING HEALTH AND STABILITY WHILE ALSO BOOSTING LOCAL ECONOMIES BY INCREASING DOLLARS SPENT AT GROCERY STORES, FARMERS MARKETS, AND OTHER FOOD RETAILERS AND SUPPORTING JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESSES. MANNA'S BENEFITS OUTREACH TEAM HELPS ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE AND NAVIGATE THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS. IN FY 2024-2025, MANNA STAFF HELPED 1,888 HOUSEHOLDS COMPLETE SNAP APPLICATIONS, GENERATING MORE THAN 5 MILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR LOCAL GROCERY STORES AND MARKETS. THESE BENEFITS TRANSLATED INTO MORE THAN 900,000 SNAP-SUPPORTED MEALS FOR FAMILIES ACROSS THE REGION.

HEALTHY OPPORTUNITIES PILOT (HOP) THROUGH NORTH CAROLINA'S HEALTHY OPPORTUNITIES PILOT, MANNA SERVES AS THE REGIONAL LEAD FOR FOOD INSECURITY SERVICES. THE HEALTHY OPPORTUNITIES PILOT IN NORTH CAROLINA INVESTS UP FRONT IN ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS FOOD AND OTHER ESSENTIAL SUPPORTS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES AND PREVENT THE NEED FOR COSTLY MEDICAL CARE LATER ON. DURING THE FISCAL YEAR, MANNA PROVIDED CONSISTENT ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD WHILE IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR RESIDENTS WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS BY DISTRIBUTING 128,828 IN BENEFITS TO OVER 735 PARTICIPANTS,. THIS WORK STRENGTHENS THE LINK BETWEEN NUTRITION AND HEALTH AND HELPS REDUCE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE LIVING ON A LIMITED INCOME WHO ARE MANAGING ILLNESS. PUBLIC EDUCATION MANNA FOODBANK IS A NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THE ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE. WE ARE DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS TO HUNGER THAT ARE COMMUNITY-DRIVEN, EQUITABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND VALUE EVERYONE. WE ARE WORKING TO END HUNGER FOR ALL WESTERN NORTH CAROLINIANS THROUGH OUR COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING FOOD FOR TODAY, FOOD FOR TOMORROW, AND FOOD FOR A LIFETIME. A YEAR OF UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGE AND RECOVERY ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2024, HURRICANE HELENE COMPLETELY DESTROYED MANNA FOODBANK'S FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS. IN A MATTER OF HOURS,. MANNA BECAME THE FIRST FOOD BANK IN THE FEEDING AMERICA NETWORK'S HISTORY TO EXPERIENCE A TOTAL LOSS. THE LOSSES WERE IMMENSE. IN ADDITION TO BOTH WAREHOUSES AND OUR ENTIRE FOOD INVENTORY, MANNA ALSO LOST: "ALL WAREHOUSE EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING PALLET JACKS, FORKLIFTS, REACH TRUCKS, AND EVERYDAY SUPPLIES SUCH AS BOXES, PALLETS, AND GLOVES; "ALL IT INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SERVERS, LAPTOPS, PRINTERS, BARCODE SCANNERS, AND A/V EQUIPMENT; "THE RECLAMATION CENTER, WHICH RESCUED MORE THAN 2 MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD EACH YEAR; "OFFICE FURNITURE, SUPPLIES, AND ALL FACILITY CONTENTS NECESSARY FOR DAILY OPERATIONS. THE ONLY MAJOR ASSETS WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE WERE OUR TRUCKS. BECAUSE THE TEAM HAD MOVED THEM TO HIGHER GROUND, THOSE TRUCKS WERE BACK ON THE ROAD WITHIN DAYS, REACHING THE HARDEST-HIT MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES WITH EMERGENCY FOOD AND WATER. WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS, MANNA LAUNCHED A TEMPORARY DISTRIBUTION AT THE WNC FARMERS MARKET. BY THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK, WE HAD SECURED AND MOVED INTO AN 84,000-SQUARE-FOOT WAREHOUSE TO KEEP FOOD FLOWING TO OUR SIXTEEN- COUNTY SERVICE AREA. CONSTRUCTION IS NOW UNDERWAY TO BUILD OUT 14,000 SQUARE FEET OF COLD STORAGE, OFFICE SPACE, A VOLUNTEER CENTER AND ADD BACKUP POWER TO SAFEGUARD PERISHABLE FOOD IN FUTURE DISASTERS. THE NEW MILLS RIVER FACILITY REPRESENTS NOT ONLY RECOVERY BUT RENEWAL-STRONGER, SAFER, AND BUILT FOR THE LONG ROAD AHEAD. ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, THE STORM LEFT DEEP SCARS. MANY PARTNER PANTRIES LOST THEIR BUILDINGS, FOOD, AND VEHICLES. MANNA CONTINUES TO WORK ALONGSIDE THEM TO RESTORE LOCAL CAPACITY AND PLAN FOR THE FUTURE. COMMUNITY NEEDS REMAIN HIGHER THAN EVER. YET THROUGH EVERY CHALLENGE, THE OUTPOURING OF GENEROSITY FROM DONORS, VOLUNTEERS, AND NEIGHBORS HAS KEPT FOOD ON TABLES AND HOPE ALIVE. WHAT BEGAN AS A DEVASTATING LOSS HAS BECOME A TESTAMENT TO THIS REGION'S RESILIENCE AND TO MANNA'S ENDURING COMMITMENT TO SERVE, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.