Join Us for
Hunger Action Month 2015!
September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide initiative designed to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger and join the movement to help end hunger! Here at MANNA FoodBank, we are asking: What does it mean to take action on hunger? This month, we have a few ways you can take action to raise awareness about the serious impact hunger has on so many people in our community, and across the country.
Share a SPOON Picture!
This month, you can show your support of hunger awareness with one simple action:
1. Draw a picture of an orange spoon.
2. Fill in the blanks with your answers:
HUNGER = __________
FOOD = ____________
3. Take a selfie with your artwork and share it on social media!
Share your spoon picture on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, tag MANNA FoodBank, and challenge friends and family to join you to generate awareness for the 49 million Americans who don’t know where they’ll find their next meal.
INVOLVE YOUR KIDS!
This is a great activity for kids, too! Encourage your kids to draw a creative spoon picture, and think about the 1 in 4 children in WNC that do not have consistent access to food. Then, share your kids’ photo and tag MANNA!
If you’re social media savvy, use these hashtags with your spoon picture:
#MANNAFeedsWNC #HungerActionMonth
Wear ORANGE on September 3rd!
September 3rd is Hunger Action Day, so it’s the perfect excuse to wear ORANGE! Orange is the color of hunger awareness, so sport all your orange gear and let your family, coworkers, friends, and neighbors know that YOU are taking action, standing with millions across the country, united in the work to end hunger!
Support our Space to Erase Hunger Campaign! #MANNAfeedsWNC
DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT and help us match a $125,000 donation from Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC by the end of September!
We have a lot happening this month, and the 
timing could not better. In April, we launched the public phase of our Space to Erase Hunger capital campaign to renovate and expand our existing space (you can read all about it here), and this month, we are asking our community to help us with a final push to reach our fundraising goal of $3 million! Yes, that sounds like a lot of money, but we are ALMOST THERE. Through generous donations from our sponsors, grants, and in-kind donations from building suppliers, we have ALREADY raised $2.5 million towards our goal.
But we need everyone’s support to raise the remaining $500,000. If you donate during September, you can DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT thanks to the generous matching gift from the BCBSNC donation. The impact of your donation means we will be well on our way to creating the necessary space to accept all of the generous food donations that come our way, and this ensures that we don’t have to send fresh, healthy food to the landfill.
Please consider donating to this crucial campaign that helps reduce food waste AND gets healthier, fresher food to the people who need it most. You can donate online, mail a check, or text the keyword MANNA to 41444 to donate directly from your mobile phone.
Join Our EVENTS for the Month of September!
All month long, we will have opportunities for YOU to take action to end hunger. Below are the big events happening this month, plus you can check out our calendar for a full list of events. Follow us on social media to get the latest on what is happening every day, and to see photos of you and your neighbors taking action to end hunger!
September 3rd: Hunger Action Day
Today is the day to wear orange and show your support for hunger relief! Join hunger relief advocates across the country today by wearing orange and bringing awareness to the issue of hunger. This is also a great day to take a spoon selfie and post it on social media!
September 4th: Meet the Author: Leanne Brown, author of Good and Cheap
Leanne Brown will stop in Asheville and Sylva as part of her national book tour for her i
ncredibly popular cookbook, Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4 a Day. You have two chances to meet her, get a book signed, and participate in a cooking demo.
From 2:00 to 4:00 P.M., Leanne will stop at Pisgah View Apartments on the YMCA Mobile Kitchen to provide demonstrations of some of her recipes, meet fans, answer questions, and sign books! This is a family-friendly event, so feel free to bring the kids.
If you miss her at Pisgah View Apartments, you can catch her later that evening at 6:30 P.M. at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC, where she will be demoing more recipes from her book, signing books, and answering questions in a Q and A session.
Read more about Leanne’s fantastic book, and how it came to be, here on her website. PLUS you can download a pdf copy for free!
September 14th: Empty B
owls
This year marks our 14th year doing the Empty Bowls fundraiser, and it has become increasingly successful, thanks to our sponsors, the fabulous artists that donate over 1000 bowls, local restaurants that provide food and drinks, the talented musicians providing live entertainment, and, of course, YOU! You can read more about this year’s soiree, which is again broken into two events – lunch and dinner – here.
September 16th: Ingles Day at the Mountain State Fair!
Every year at the Mountain State Fair, Ingles Markets supports MANNA by offering Ingles Day, when attendees can bring 5 cans of Laura Lynn brand food and receive free entry into the fair. Last year, we collected a whopping 17,358 pounds of food at the Mountain State Fair! So, if you plan on going to the fair this year, put Ingles Day on your calendar! www.wncagcenter.org
September 26th: Asheville Fall Charity Jam
The Asheville Fall Charity Jam is a day-long music festival happening at the New Mountain music venue that is sure to keep your feet moving! Proceeds from the event will help to benefit MANNA, plus attendees that bring 5 canned foods to donate to the food drive will be automatically entered into a raffle to win some amazing prizes! Visit the Asheville Fall Charity Jam website for more information and to purchase tickets.
September 30th: Hunger Action Month Wrap Party at Highland Brewing
Join us for the end of the month celebration! Highland Brewing will be donating $1 for every beer sold in the tasting room on September 30th, and MANNA will be on site, working to match the $125,000 donation from BCBSNC. Come to Highland, and donate to a good cause while enjoying some of Asheville’s premier local brews!
30 Ways in 30 Days: 30 Ways to Take Action Against Hunger in September
Are you looking for more things to do during Hunger Action Month? Take a look at our calendar; each day has a do-able suggestion for actions you can take to engage in the work to end hunger.
