Feeding Kids Year Round: MANNA Packs and Summer Packs for Kids

MANNA PACKS FOR KIDS: OVER A DECADE OF DEDICATION TO FEEDING KIDS

Right now, there are over 45,000 children in Western North Carolina who rely on free school meals during the school year. Many of these children—our neighbors—face weekends where they literally do not have enough to eat until next Monday’s breakfast at school.

MANNA FoodBank is committed to ensure that they do, and we need your help.

At schools across 16 counties of WNC, MANNA helps feed children facing hunger every weekend through our MANNA Packs for Kids program. The program is brilliant in its simplicity. Every Friday, a bag of nutrient-dense food is given to thousands of local school kids. Every year when school is in session, MANNA works hard to provide packs to over 5,000 children at 184 sites in WNC every week.

It costs just $3.00 to fill a backpack with enough nutritious food to feed a child for an entire weekend. A gift of $12 helps provide a child with a pack of food every weekend for an entire month. A really generous gift of $112 will make sure that a child can have a pack of food to eat for the entire school year!

MOMENTS THAT GO WITH MEALS

The moments that go along with our MANNA Packs are as powerful as the food itself and show how important food is in all aspects of a child’s life. Recently, a counselor in a neighboring rural county elementary school overheard a child talking about not being able to have a friend come for a sleepover. The girl’s mom knew they didn’t have enough food in the house for the family, let alone another child. The counselor quickly reached out to see if they wanted to sign up for our MANNA Packs program. They did, and as luck would have it, the very next week the girl’s pack came with a pizza kit! The child’s mom was overjoyed knowing that now her child, too, could have the fun of a sleepover with her friend. This is just one example of the moments that our MANNA Packs create in the lives of children across WNC.

The love, kindness, and generosity of our supporters is ensuring that our community’s children facing hunger not only have enough to eat, but also the opportunity to thrive.

Read more about:
Our One Million Packs Milestone!
How Volunteers and Donors Fuel the MANNA Packs Program’s Success