The word "Center" carries a lot of meaning for us at Manna. We believe it was among the best decisions our founders made when establishing this community based organization in 1983. They could have called us "Manna Food Bank" or "Manna Food Pantry" yet they chose the word "Center." No one agency can do it alone, but serving as the Center, we can meet both need and build capacity, bringing the community together with the common goal of ending hunger.
From our headquarters in Gaithersburg to our network of satellite locations we reach upwards of 3,600 families with a healthy supply of food in the iconic "Manna box" each month. This month we are celebrating our first "Manna-versary" at our satellite site, Colesville Presbyterian Church, who helped us pilot a Choice Pantry Model.
We welcome thousands of volunteers who help not only in our warehouse but in every corner of the County through food drives, farmers markets, and community fairs. Our nutrition education team fans out to commercial kitchens throughout the County to teach classes on how to eat healthy on a budget.
With our partners in Community Food Rescue we coordinate the activities of two dozen hunger organizations and hundreds of food donors. Our Smart Sacks program is active in almost 60 elementary schools thanks to business sponsors and community partners. We have also launched a data analysis project, thanks in part to funding from the County Executive, to determine if we are reaching the right people in the right places.
We embrace the name "Center" wholeheartedly here at Manna. Every day, in every aspect of what we do, we see the reality unfold: thousands of volunteers, hundreds of businesses, tens of thousands of community members donating food and funds in this great community working to make "ending hunger" not just a slogan but a possibility.
Thank you for joining us and don't forget to share with us your ideas and interests. You can reach me directly at jackie@mannafood.org or 240.268.2524
~ Jackie DeCarlo, Executive Director, Manna Food Center
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 Thank you Music for Food DC
Music for Food held a benefit concert for Manna Food Center on May 17th in Bethesda. The concert featured two emerging international viola soloists - Wenting Kang and Ayane Kozasa. This event was a huge success, raising $21,886.85 for Manna Food Center! Contributions poured in from the 160 audience members and online donors. All donations were matched one-for-one by the ensemble's musicians. This donation is the largest sum raised from a single concert in the five-year history of Music for Food.
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Stamp Out Hunger
Through the Stamp Out Hunger initiative on Saturday, May 9th Postal Carriers collected non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and delivered them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters.
Stamp Out Hunger brought in 52,915 pounds of food for Manna! We are so appreciative to all the people in the community who donated during this food drive. Also, big thanks to all the postal carriers who helped collect this food.
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Montgomery County Muslim Foundation Spring Food Drives Were a Huge Success!
Our Faith Partners are essential to supporting the needs of Manna Food Center's clients. Yom Kippur kicks off the giving season in the Fall and this Spring Manna benefited from the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation's (MCMF) incredible show of support during their food drive at Giant Food Stores.
This Spring MCMF collected 18,946 pounds of food, an increase of 10,000 pounds from the previous Spring. By mobilizing its membership over the course of two weekends at local Giant stores, MCMF boosted Manna's ability to end hunger this summer.
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Thank you Washington Rockville Elks
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Manna Team with members of Washington Rockville Elks Lodge
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The Washington Rockville Elks Lodge hosted its Annual Charity Golf Tournament on May 15th. Proceeds from this event went to support several nonprofits in the area including $7,000 donated to Manna Food Center! Thank you Washington Rockville Elks Lodge for your support of Manna.
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Congratulations to
Westfield Montgomery Mall
part of the Taste Festival. Proceeds from the event went
to benefit Manna Food Center.
Over $2,000 and 80 pounds of food were collected!
Thank you to Westfield Montgomery Mall and their patrons!
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| Train To Be A
Volunteer Food Runner
Manna Food Center is the lead agency of Community Food Rescue (CFR), the new coordinated food recovery system of Montgomery County, Maryland. CFR recovers and redistributes perfectly good food to people experiencing hunger.
We seek individuals, families, and groups with vehicles and good driving records to join our volunteer food runner corps to transport donated food from food businesses to recipient hunger relief agencies.
Volunteer Food Runners are encouraged to attend a FREE two hour safe food handling training on June 25th 5-7pm. Click here to sign up for the training.
Click here for more information and to register to volunteer for CFR's Volunteer Food Runners Program.
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| Ways to Volunteer
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; shift 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 PM shift (12:30 - 4 pm)
English/Spanish bilingual 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.
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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. |
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our
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 May 2015. Without your incredible generosity, we would not be able to feed the families in need in our community. 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. We wish we could list each of the individuals who also contribute to Manna, but the list would be endless. Thank you again for your support!
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Academy of Fine Arts
Beall Elementary School
Bethesda Central Farmers' Market
Bethesda Co-op
Bloom
Bullis School
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran
Church
Capital Area Food Bank
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist
Church
Christ the Servant Lutheran Church
Clarksburg Farmers' Market
CNSI
Cold Spring Elementary School
Colesville Presbyterian Church
Dawson's Market
Department of Health and Human
Services
Elks Lodge
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Faith United Methodist Church
First Fruits Farm
Gaithersburg Germantown
Chamber of Commerce
Giant Food
growingSOUL
Harris Teeter
Herbert Hoover Middle School
Hermon Presbyterian Church
Jeff Miller Consulting Alliance
Jewish War Vet. Ladies Aux.
Jordan Pence Memorial Fund
Journey's Crossing Congregation
Kaiser Permanente of the
Mid-Atlantic States
Larry E. Paul Certified Financial
Planner
Living Faith Lutheran Church
Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union
Montgomery County Master
Gardeners
Montgomery County Thrift Shop
Board
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Montgomery Faith Fellowship
Montgomery Master Gardeners
National Council of Jewish Women
Norman's Farm Markets
Norwood School
Olney Farmers & Artists' Market
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church
QIAGEN
Quinter Design
Response Tech
Richard Montgomery HS Choral
Program
Rockville Farmers' Market
Roots
Safeway
Saint Mark Presbyterian Church
SAMHSA
Sanders Foundation
Shrine of St. Jude
Sodexo
St. Patrick's Catholic Church
Stein Sperling, Bennett, De Jong
and Driscoll, OC
Temple Emanuel
Tikvat Israel Congregation
Trader Joe's
True Buddha Temple Maryland
Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville
United Way of Greater Knoxville
Vedanta Center of Greater Washington DC
Village of Martin's Additions
Walter Johnson High School
Warner Memorial Presbyterian
Church
Wegman's
Westland Middle School
Whetstone Elementary School
Whole Foods Market
Woodley Garden Club
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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.
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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!
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Learn how Manna helps our neighbors in need
 | | Manna Food Center |
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The Karen Goldberg Smart Sacks Program
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Thank you to MCPS Student, Meg Stafford, for making this great video
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How Manna Fights Hunger
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.
We provide food county-wide to partners such as emergency shelters, group homes, food pantries, and soup kitchens at no charge.
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If you're interested in donating food, making a financial contribution, or volunteering please contact us at:
Manna Food Center
9311 Gaither Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301.424.1130
Please support Manna through your workplace giving campaign.
United Way # 8846
CFC # 23028
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2015 Farmers Markets season has begun!
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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
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!
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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"
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Manna Food Center has received the GuideStar Seal for Transparency.
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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."
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