E-News from Manna

May 2015

Spring is a great time of year and the nice Spring weather marks the start of the Farmers Market season. As many of you may know, Manna collects produce from five local Farmers Markets throughout the growing season and distributes that food to families experiencing hunger and food insecurity in Montgomery County. Last growing season we collected and distributed more than 100,000 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce. Thank you to our partner markets, farmers and donors who make this work possible. If you would like to donate to this program for the 2015 growing season, visit our donation page and designate "FreshGive" in the dedication box.

In addition to the start of the growing season, the past three months have been full of great events and successful food drives with many more to come. The Montgomery County Muslim Foundation, Ride On and MSI Soccer all hosted annual Spring food drives to support Manna. This weekend Music for Food will be hosting their first DC area event with proceeds to support Manna, we will also be collecting donations at the Taste of Montgomery on Sunday and Il Pizzico will be donating proceeds to Manna the first week in June. Come out and join us at one or all of these events! You can also participate in our work by volunteering your time or donate food and funds to help us keep up with the ever increasing need.

Thank you for your support!

Montgomery County Muslim Foundation Spring Food Drives Were a Huge Success!

Thank you to the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation for their ongoing support. Their annual spring food drives brought in nearly 20,000 pounds of food to support Manna Food Center. That total more than doubled their total compared to last year. Thank you to the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation for your support!

Music for Food DC to Support

Manna Food Center on May 17

The Event is this Sunday!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Concert begins at 2:00 pm

Suggested donation $25

(100% of the proceeds will support Manna Food Center)

Christ Lutheran Church,

8011 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda

(ample parking available)

for information visit the Music for Food DC

Facebook page

This will be the first Music for Food concert in the DC area and will feature works for viola and chamber orchestra by Bach, Telemann, Handel, and Hindemith; featuring Wenting Kang and Ayane Kozasa as viola soloists.

Music for Food is a Boston based organization and we are pleased to help expand their mission to the Greater Washington, DC area. Music for Food believes that both music and food are essential to human life and growth. Music has the power to call forth the best in human beings and can inspire awareness and action when artists and audiences work together. Music for Food is a musician-led initiative for local hunger relief that sets forth a model applicable in every community. Concerts raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger, empowering all musicians who wish to use their artistry to further social justice.

We look forward to seeing you on May 17!

MSI Food Drive

Thank you to all those that supported Manna Food Center by participating in the MSI Food Drive on April 26th.

MSI logo

A total of 5,160 pounds was collected in support of Manna! More than 250 families will benefit from this food.

Taste Festival at Montgomery Mall

Sample delectable bites from the restaurants in Westfield Montgomery Mall to benefit Manna Food Center this Sunday, May 17th from 11am - 2pm.

Donate nonperishable food to support the cause and join the fun!

Taste Festival is part of a week long true food lovers' celebration at Montgomery Mall (May 15th - May 24th). Festival events include a gourmet happy hour, chef demonstrations, movie screenings and 8 days of dining offers at our award-winning eateries. Click here to find out more about the festival.

Thank You to Ride On Donors!

Thank you to Ride On and all the generous passengers that participated in the annual Spring food drive. From Sunday, April 19th through Saturday, April 25th passengers of Ride On buses in Montgomery County, Maryland donated food to support Manna Food Center. This year we requested that participants donate food to support our Smart Sacks program to help end childhood hunger in the County. The Smart Sacks program provides healthy food for weekend meals to more than 2,300 elementary school students each week.

8,767 pounds of food was collected throughout the week!

Thank you Ride On for your continued support and work to help fight hunger in Montgomery County.

Farm to Food Bank:
Farmers Market Season Has Begun!

Manna Food Center's Farm to Food Bank program began in 2010 to achieve the goal of providing fresh, local produce to Montgomery County residents in need of food assistance. Each week, grant funds are divided among fresh produce vendors at farmers markets to purchase unsold produce that is picked up by Manna's refrigerated trucks. All food collected at the market is brought back to the Manna warehouse, sorted by volunteers, and distributed to Manna clients. Last year, local farmers provided just over 100,000 pounds of healthy, local greens, tomatoes, squash, herbs, and more through the FreshGive program.

Support Manna's FreshGive program by shopping at one of our partner markets or make a donation to this initiative. Donations can be made at our FreshGive table at all five markets each week or make a donation here and designate this program.

This year Manna is proud to partner with five Montgomery County Farmers Markets: Rockville Town Center, Pike Central, Bethesda Central, Olney Farmers and Artists Market, Clarksburg Farm Market. Check out the sidebar for days and times of the markets.

Food Access Survey

Manna Food Center is working in conjunction with the Montgomery County Food Council's Food Access Working Group to increase access to healthy foods for all Montgomery County residents. We are conducting a survey in order to hear from you, Montgomery County residents, about what is working well and what is not working well in terms of your ability to find and purchase the types of foods you want to eat. Additionally, the latter half of survey questions will help us gather general information about who is responding. All information that you are willing to provide will be kept confidential.

The Food Access Working Group will use the information provided on the survey to identify the barriers to obtaining healthy food in Montgomery County communities and develop a plan to eliminate those barriers with the goal of making it easier to find affordable, healthy food items. Once we have compiled all of the survey responses we will hold a public meeting to report the findings.

Click here to fill out the survey. If you would prefer to use the Spanish version of the survey, simply select Spanish by clicking on the drop-down box in the upper right hand corner of the opening page. The survey will close on Friday, June 5.

Looking for a Healthier Happy Hour?

Come to Sage Yoga for the weekly Friday "Happy Hour Flow" class from 5:45 to 7:00 pm from March through May to help end hunger in Montgomery County. All Friday Happy Hour Flow class donations ($5 minimum requested per class) go directly to Manna Food Center this spring! Food donations will also be collected in the lobby for anyone who also wishes to drop off food (a growing pile mounting at the studio already!).

Sage Yoga is located at 10017 Locust Drive, Suite #210 (2nd Floor), Damascus, MD 20872. For information you can call 301.253.3150 or visit their website.

This is a great way to end the work week while helping to fight hunger in your community!

Celebrate 25 Years with Il Pizzico

Il Pizzico has been part of Montgomery County for 25 years and will celebrate that anniversary of exceptional Italian eats and great memories from

June 1st until June 6th

Chef/owner Enzo Livia is extending a generous donation offer - a portion of the week's proceeds will be donated to Manna Food Center.

Treat yourself to dinner out and help to support Manna!

Ways to Volunteer

Farmers Market Volunteers

SSL Eligible

Volunteers help collect food and funds at local Farmers Markets.

This is a great opportunity for Manna to provide our clients with fresh produce every week from May through November!

Shifts are still available at the following locations, days, and times:

Bethesda Central - Sundays, 9am - 1:30pm

Olney Market - Sundays, 9am - 1pm

Groups can be a maximum of 5 volunteers. Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 or older.

Click here to request shift times for this opportunity

We will send you an email confirmation after verifying availability for your preferred shift.

For questions email Katie at katie@mannafood.org

Check out our year round opportunities!

Food Distribution (DISTRO) Volunteer

SSL Eligible

Must be 17 years of age or older

Volunteers (17 years of age or older) help with a variety of tasks such as packing and sorting food, bagging produce and meat, assisting clients to their car, and taking in food donations. Volunteers are needed every day Monday through Friday from 9am to �3pm. Volunteers should be comfortable standing on their feet, bending, reaching and lifting, 5-25 pounds.

For more information and/or to register for this opportunity, please email Marie at volunteer@mannafood.org and put DISTRO in the subject line

Client Service Representative (CSR)

Must be 18 years of age or older

As a client service representative (CSR) you will log referrals by phone, fax and email in to our database. We have the following volunteer shift currently available:

Wednesday AM shift (9 am - 12:30 pm)

Wednesday PM shift (12:30 - 4 pm)

English/Spanish bi�lingual volunteers especially needed. Volunteers must be able to make a weekly commitment for a minimum of 6 months. We will provide you with the necessary training on our database.

For more information about volunteering as a CSR, email volunteer@mannafood.org and indicate CSR in the subject line and shift(s) when you are available.

Second Saturday Food Distribution

Second Saturday distribution at Manna's Gaithersburg warehouse takes place from 11:30am - 1:30pm on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

To receive food, clients must have a referral in by the preceding Friday at 3pm to pick up food on the 2nd Saturday. Visit the Manna website for upcoming dates and additional information.

Call 301-424-1130 or email referral@mannafood.org.

A Heartfelt Thank You to Our

March and April 2015 Donors

We extend a warm and sincere THANK YOU to all of the organizations and businesses that have donated food and funds during the month of March and April 2015. Without your incredible generosity, we would not be able to feed the families in need in our community. We wish we could list each of the individuals who also contribute to Manna, but the list would be endless. If we accidentally missed your business or organization in our list, please email Therese Lampe and we will make the correction in our next list. Thank you again for your support!

AARP

Avendra

Bargain Movers

Beth Shalom Congregation

Beth Sholom Early Childhood Ctr.

Bethesda Central Farmers' Market

Bethesda Co-op

Bethesda Friends Meeting

Bloom

Bullis School

Burness Communications

Calvary Evangelical Lutheran
Church

Capital Area Food Bank

Century Distributors

Charles E. Smith Jewish Day
School

Christ Episcopal Church

Christ the Servant Lutheran Church

Church of Christ the King

Clarksburg Farmers' Market

CNSI

Colesville Presbyterian Church

Colesville United Methodist Men

Congregation B'nai Tzedek

Covenant Life Church

CSG Enterprise, L.P.

Dawson's Market

Dayspring Church

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Potomac Valley Alum. Ch.

Department of Health and Human
Services

Edaptive Systems, LLC

Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Faith United Methodist Church

First Baptist Church of Rockville

First Fruits Farm

French International School

Gaithersburg Germantown
Chamber of Commerce

Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church

Gaithersburg Senior Center

Geneva Day School

Giant Food

Global Mission Church

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Grace United Methodist Church

Green Acres School

Greenberg, Wexler and Eig, LLC

growingSOUL

Harris Teeter

Harry Gudelsky Enterprises, LLC

Hermon Presbyterian Church

Herson's Honda

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

Ingleside at King Farm

Inter-Faith Chapel Mission
Committee

International Monetary Fund

Jeff Miller Consulting Alliance

Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant UMC

Jewish War Vet. Ladies Aux.

Jordan Pence Memorial Fund

Journey's Crossing Congregation

Julia Bindeman Suburban Center

Kaiser Permanente of the
Mid-Atlantic States

Larry E. Paul Certified Financial
Planner

Leisure World Kiwanis

Lucy V. Barnsley Elementary
School

Lutheran Church of St. Andrew

Macy's at Lakeforest Mall

Maryland School for Jewish
Education

Matan Companies

Medimmune Staff

Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union

Montgomery County Muslim
Foundation

Montgomery County Thrift Shop
Board

Montgomery Faith Fellowship

Montgomery Master Gardeners

Mt. Airy Mattress

Mt. Jezreel Baptist Church

National Council of Jewish Women

National Smart Set Washington
DC Chapter

Norman's Farm Markets

North Chevy Chase Christian
Church

Norwood School

Olney Farmers & Artists' Market

Or Haolam Ministries, Inc.

PEO Sisterhood Chapter B

ProShare Advisors LLC

Quinter Design

Response Tech

Rev. Jill McCrory

Richard Montgomery HS Choral
Program

Rock Terrace Elementary School

Rockville Farmers' Market

Roots

Rossmoor Ceramic Crafters

Safeway

Saint Mark Presbyterian Church

SAMHSA

Sandy Spring Friends School

Self Storage White Flint

Seneca Community Church

Seven Locks Baptist Church

Shaare Torah

Shrine of St. Jude

Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.

St. Francis Episcopal Church

St. Jane De Chantal Church

St. John's Episcopal School

St. Jude's Leisure Club

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Sugarloaf Mountain Works, Inc.

Temple Emanuel

Temple Sinai Women of Reform
Judaism

The Goddard School, Gaithersburg

The Grand Apartments

Tikvat Israel Congregation

Trader Joe's

True Buddha Temple Maryland

Twinbrook Community Church

Unitarian Universalist Church of
Rockville

Village of Martin's Additions

Warner Memorial Presbyterian
Church

Wegman's

Whole Foods Market

Winston Churchill High School

Women of Temple Beth Ami

Woodley Garden Club

In This Issue

Exciting Times at Manna

Farmers Market Season

Food Access Survey

A Healthy Kind of Happy Hour

Il Pizzico

Ways to Volunteer

2nd Saturday Food Distribution

March/April 2015 Donors

Your donation makes a significant difference right here in Montgomery County. Manna is one of the most efficient nonprofit organizations in our community, $0.94 cents of every dollar goes directly to feeding families in need.

Shop Amazon for Manna

Manna Food Center is registered with Amazon Smile. Click below to designate Manna as your charitable organization of choice. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. Thank you for your continued support!

Learn how Manna helps our neighbors in need

Manna Food Center

The Karen Goldberg Smart Sacks Program

Thank you to MCPS Student, Meg Stafford, for making this great video

How Manna Fights Hunger

Food For Families

We provide food for more than 3,760 families each month at seven food distribution sites throughout Montgomery County.

Smart Sacks

We match businesses & organizations with elementary schools, and together we provide healthy foods to
more than 2,300 children every Friday.

Agency Food Distribution

We provide food county-wide to partners such as emergency shelters, group homes, food pantries, and soup kitchens at no charge.

If you're interested in donating food, making a financial contribution, or volunteering please

Manna Food Center

9311 Gaither Road

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

301.424.1130

info@mannafood.org

volunteer@mannafood.org
fooddrive@mannafood.org

referral@mannafood.org

Visit our website at www.mannafood.org

Please support Manna through your workplace giving campaign.

United Way # 8846
CFC # 23028

2015 Farmers Markets season has begun!

Support Manna Food Center while at your local farmers market. You can drop off fresh produce or cash donations at Manna's market table. We use donations to purchase unsold produce at the end of the day.

You can make donations at the following markets.

Bethesda Central Farm Market

7600 Arlington Rd, Bethesda

Sundays, 9am - 1:30pm

Clarksburg Farmers Market

23315 Frederick Road, Clarksburg

Sundays, 10am - 1pm

Starting June 7

Olney Farmers and Artists Market

2801 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney

Sundays, 9am - 1pm

Pike Central Farmers Market

5992 Executive Blvd.,
Rockville

Saturdays, 9am - 1:30pm

Rockville Town Center Farmers Market

Corner of Rt 28 and Monroe, Rockville

Saturday, 9am - 1pm

Thank you for your support!

Manna Food Center has been selected by

The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington as "one of the best small charities in the Washington DC Region"

www.cfp-dc.org

Manna Food Center has received the GuideStar Seal for Transparency.

Read Manna's evaluation

here.

Six Years of Quality!

For the sixth year in a row, Manna Food Center has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.

Read Manna's evaluation here.

From their website: "Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. ... we aim to help charities by shining lights on truly effective organizations...we believe we can help ensure that charitable giving keeps pace with the growing need for charitable programs."

Thank you for fighting hunger and feeding hope with Manna Food Center. Mark Foraker Therese Lampe Katie Sayago Director of Development Development Coordinator Development Specialist mark@mannafood.org therese@mannafood.org katie@mannafood.org