Thanks to a grant from the Walnut Cove Member Association, more Buncombe County students receiving free school meals will have food access over the weekend, when they are away from the school meal program.
The $10,000 grant from the Walnut Cove Members Association (WCMA) will directly support MANNA FoodBank’s child feeding program, MANNA Packs for Kids, focusing specifically on support for Buncombe County students. This grant provides enough food for 3,584 weekend packs for students during the 2017/2018 academic year.
In Buncombe County alone, an average of 1 in 4 children are food insecure, and don’t know where they will get their next meal. During the 2016/2017 academic year, MANNA’s supporters provided weekly MANNA Packs to 1,367 Buncombe County students receiving free school meal support at 36 schools.
“We believe that no child should ever go hungry,” says Beth Stahl, Youth Program Manager for MANNA FoodBank. “With strong community partnerships, we are committed to serving as many children as we possibly can.”
“The Walnut Cove Members Association has extraordinary heart and commitment for meeting the needs of local children,” says Mary Nesbitt, Chief Development Officer for MANNA, “and we are thrilled that children from 36 schools across Buncombe County will be served because of them.”