 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
May 2016
Newsletter
|  |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Notes from the Executive Director
|
 |
| |
Volunteer shopping assistant at the Choice Pantry
|
Dear Manna supporter,
Last week I was delighted to be part of the Montgomery County Food Summit, designed to bring together faith leaders, community stakeholders, elected officials and nonprofit providers to discuss issues related to poverty, hunger and food insecurity in eastern Montgomery County. The gathering at The People's Community Baptist Church featured an inspiring address by County Executive Leggett. He reminded us of all the assets Montgomery County has at our disposal to end hunger-engaged people of faith and others of good will, diverse communities including New Americans, suburban and rural neighborhoods, and economic abundancy for many. The evening drew more than 100 participants to hear from a panel of faith leaders and nonprofit providers, featuring Manna, Rainbow Community Development Center, Nourish Now, and Capital Area Food Bank.
Hearing from Mr. Leggett in the presence of faith leaders took me back to the story of how Manna began. Back in 1982, as a national recession was at its peak, the County Executive at the time, Charles Gilchrist, asked the Reverend Lon Dring, Executive Director of Community Ministries of Montgomery County (now Interfaith Works), to organize a task force. In cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services, this group was charged with addressing the needs of the hungry and poor. Key leadership in the task force included faith leaders and the end result was the creation of Manna, whose mission remains to end hunger in our community.
The name "manna" is referenced in the Old Testament, New Testament and Quran. The traditional story line is that Moses and the Israelites were provided "manna" from God to keep them well fed during their time in the desert. Indeed, all major faith traditions have a concern for the poor and vulnerable in their teachings. As a secular organization, we at Manna Food Center are honored to bear a name that symbolizes the power of faith and community concern for neighbors in need.
Community response to hunger is a main feature of our partnership in East County with Colesville Presbyterian Church (CPC). The 4th Friday of each month the congregation of CPC opens its doors to approximately 50 families, giving them the option to shop for fresh produce, healthy staple items, frozen meat, breads and pastries. Shoppers are paired with a neighbor to assist with budgeting and decision making. While you wait your turn in the pantry, you can enjoy snacks and conversation with neighbors and volunteers. There's also a play area for children.
One shopper expressed her appreciation for the experience in this way, "...This place makes me feel so good about myself. Everything here is so real. I am not just getting food to eat, but food I will really need and will use." One young woman whose family comes to the pantry often assists with interpretation for other shoppers. The Colesville volunteers are also benefiting. Cindy Todd, a member of the core group, put it this way, "I know that a community is developing because we recognize each other at the bus stop, or in the Giant parking lot, or in a local fast food joint. I still 'get the willies' when the pantry community comes together at the opening bell. The pantry is giving us a different and better way to be in the world."
New, different, and better ways of ending hunger are being created in Montgomery County today, and the Food Summit was a testament to that progress. Ending hunger won't take a miracle, but it will take all of us coming together as a community.
Join us,
Jackie DeCarlo
Executive Director
|
|
This Mother's Day, give a gift to Manna
in honor of the mothers in your life.
Your donation will help support working mothers in our community
who are struggling to make ends meet each month.
Manna will send an eCard, copying you,
letting your loved one know that a dedication has been made.
|
Did you know that the Spring and Summer months tend to be the slowest times of year for food donations? Unfortunately, the demand for food continues throughout the year. You can get involved to help Manna through participation in the following food drives... or plan your own with friends, family, co-workers or congregations!
Saturday, May 7 & Sunday, May 8: Montgomery County Muslim Foundation Food Drive
Saturday, May 14: 24th Annual Letter Carriers' "Stamp Out Hunger"
Lets Stamp Out Hunger together! Postal Carriers will collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes (also in post offices) and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters.
To donate, just place boxes or cans of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail on Saturday, May 14th. The carrier will do the rest! This is a great and convenient way to support Manna Food Center. For additional information check with your local post office or postal carrier.
Want to organize your own food drive to benefit Manna? Check out some helpful tips and a list of most desired foods on our website.
|
| Community Food Rescue Mobile App Launched! |
You are a busy chef getting ready for this evening's dinner service and see that you have unsold food to donate in the refrigerator. You are a farmer surveying your fields and know that the bumper crop of fresh lettuce is more than you will sell this week. You are a caterer on site setting up for a wedding and your client asks you to donate the leftovers. Now you can schedule a food run on the fly with Community Food Rescue's free matching tool, using its new mobile app for Android and Apple smart phones.
Community Food Rescue launched its free matching web-based tool last fall so that food donor businesses can easily match their unsold food to food assistance organizations that provide food to clients who experience hunger. Matches are made based on the type and quantity of food offered, distance, and time available for pickup. Volunteer food runners are alerted to matches via email and text. The first volunteer to accept the run gets it.
|
| | Volunteer Food Runner Tasha gets ready to pick up food with her insulated bag. She can use CFR's new mobile app to accept food runs on the fly. |
The new mobile app, called Chow Match, is a companion to the web-based version developed by Peninsula Food Runners, a non-profit organization with its own food recovery program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once users sign up online and complete a brief profile, they can use all of the mobile app functions. In addition to scheduling a food run on the fly, donors can use the mobile app to view active and past scheduled food runs, and cancel a run if needed.
Food recipient organizations and volunteers can also use the mobile app to view their active and past food runs. Once a food run is completed, donors and recipients can electronically sign their food run, indicating that that the food was donated and received in accordance with CFR food safety guidelines. All participants can now rate and comment on their food run experience via mobile app, similar to Yelp's five star rating.
Current CFR network users can find Chow Match, the free mobile app, on Google Play for Android phones and on iTunes for iPhones.They can also click on the Store icon in their CFR user account. For those not yet part of the CFR network, click HERE to sign up online, complete a brief profile, and then download the mobile app. Whether you are crazy-busy with running your food business, commuting to work or school, or shuttling children to activities, now you help our neighbors by redistributing much needed food with the touch of a button.
|
Eggplants Are From Mars, Peppers Are From Venus
April 14, 2016
Lindsey her
|
| | | Do dragonfruit have gender? | |
e. I just returned from Hollywood. Yes, Hollywood: the locale of this year's conference for the International Association of Culinary Professionals. There were wonderful surprises on my trip, including a memorable conversation around Nigerian cuisine with my cab driver, Joseph.I also met some food heroes of mine, Marion Nestle and Lynne Rossetto Kasper. I missed out on autographs, but the opportunity for conversation over dinner was even better. Rather than share about themselves (or their amazing books and radio shows), theirs was a mutual chorus praising Manna's work, especially nutrition education, as the most important kind of work food lovers can share.
Beyond workshops about why cooking matters to kids today, the food retail revolution, and the future of cooking lessons, I spent my first conference day touring Melissa's Produce. Melissa's is the country's leading distributor of specialty produce. On the East Coast, we buy their fruits and veggies in stores like Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. Our Manna drivers rescue food from these stores each week, meaning that Melissa's produce rotating out of grocery store inventory is likely making its way to Manna boxes. This food rescue provides our clients with wholesome fresh veggies, and also reduces food waste.
My visit to Melissa's California warehouse included perusing 1,500 different varieties of fruits and vegetables! In this tour, I learned the birds and the bees of foods that grow on trees... Four Things This Foodie Did NOT Know About Fruits and Veggies
|
| Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities |
 |
|
Food Distribution
Volunteers help, Mon-Fri from 9am-3pm, pack and sort food, bag produce and meat, assist clients to their car, and take in food donations.
Must be 17 years of age of older. This opportunity is approved for SSL hours. |
| |
|
|
|
Client Services Representative
Help log referrals by phone, fax, and email in to our database. Volunteers must be able to commit to a minimum of 6 months. English/Spanish bi-lingual skills are required.
Shifts Currently Available:
Thursdays, 4-7pm
(weekly commitment)
2nd Saturday of the Month, 10am-2pm
(monthly commitment)
Email Mardia at
|
| |
|
|
Food RunnerJoin Community Food Rescue (CFR), Montgomery County's network for food recovery. Help deliver rescued food to area shelters.
Click here to learn how you can help feed more and waste less.
|
| |
|
|
| |
| 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. Next opportunity is May 14th.
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 Donors |
|
We extend a warm and sincere THANK YOU to all of the organizations and businesses
that have donated food and funds between March 16, 2016 - April 15, 2016.
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 also list each of the individuals who contribute to Manna; thank you all again for your support!
| AARP | Goshen 4-H Club | Seven Locks Baptist Church | | Academy of Fine Arts | Green Acres School | Shadowland Laser Tag | | Arc of Montgomery County | Harris Teeter | Share Our Strength | | As Kindred Spirits Gift Shop | Ikona Photography | Social Scientific Systems | | Asbury Methodist Church | Jewish Residents of Leisure World | Social Security Administration | | Aveda Bethesda Salon & Spa | Jewish War Vet. Ladies Aux. | Sodexo Foundation | | Bethesda Big Train | Kaiser Permanente | Somerset ES | | Bethesda Co-Op | Landmark Theatre | St. Jude's Leisure Club | | Bloomingdale's | Layafette ES | St. Paul United Methodist Church | | B'nai Israel Congregation | Liberty Mountain | State of Maryland | | Calvert Investments | Lifechurch of Maryland | Stella Barra Pizzeria | | Capital Area Food Bank | Living Faith Lutheran Church | Sugar Plums Child Development | | South Lake ES | Lutheran Church of St. Andrew | TD Charitable Foundation | | Century Distributors | Madison Chinese Dance Academy | Temple Emanuel | | Champion Boxing & Fitness | MMM Freight Corp. | Temple Sinai Women of Reform
Judaism | | Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School | MNCPPC | The Adventure Park | | Child Development Center | Montgomery County | The Arena Stage | | Christ Episcopal Church | Montgomery County Employees FCU | The Cheesecake Factory | | Christ the Servant Lutheran Church | Montgomery County Master Gardeners | The Emmes Corporation | | Church of Our Savior | Montgomery County Thrift Shop Board | The Fillmore Silver Spring | | Church of The Redeemer | Muslim Community School | The Goddard School | | City of Gaithersburg | My Gym- Potomac Children's Fitness Center | The Kennedy Center | | City of Rockville | National Council of Jewish Women | The Moshman Charitable Fdn., Inc. | | Colesville Presbyterian Church | National Pan-Hellenic Council | The Spy Museum | | Concord St. Andrew's UMC | Newseum | Thomas S. Wootton HS | | Congregation B'nai Tzedek | Oakdale Emory UM Church | Tikvat Israel Congregation | | Congregation Or Chadash | Olney Theatre | Trader Joe's | | Deeper Life Bible Church | Otsuka America Pharmeceutical, Inc. | Twinbrook Community Church | | Department of Finance | Pastor Jose Cortes | Unitarian Universalist Church of
Rockville | | Earth Treks Climbing | People's Community Baptist Church | Village of Martin's Additions | | Emmanuel Lutheran Church | Response Tech | Virginia Tech Dietetic Interns | | French International School | Roots | Walker & Dunlop, LLC | | Giant Food, Inc. | Safeway | Warner Memorial Presbyterian
Church | | Girl Scout Troop #4848 | Sage Yoga | Wegmans | | Girl Scout Troop #5133 | Saint Mark Presbyterian Church | Whole Foods Market | | Good Shepherd Lutheran Church | Self Storage White Flint | Woodley Garden Club |
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
