MANNA brings hope to local food deserts
As part of their monthly MANNA Community Market in Woodfin, volunteers deliver food to help about 30-40 families at the Black Locust mobile home park. The location, a few miles from the Woodfin Community Center, serves as a satellite food distribution site as part of the monthly event. (Photos provided)ASHEVILLE — Teamwork truly makes the dream work, especially when that dream is supporting those in need during a time of high inflation.
Fourteen years ago, the Western Region Office of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte began partnering with MANNA FoodBank to supply its weekly food pantry distribution – in a program that dramatically increases its purchasing power and ability to put food on people’s tables.
MANNA (Mountain Area Nutritional Needs Alliance) is a regional food bank that links the food industry with more than 200 partners and human service organizations, such as Catholic Charities, to get food to thousands of families. Thanks to its relationships and network, MANNA can provide food to its distribution partners at reduced prices.
“If someone gives Catholic Charities a can of corn, we’re very grateful they spent a dollar in the store to give us that food. There is value in that experience, especially when you involve your children,” says Jesse Boeckermann, Western Region Office director. “In addition, through our partnership with MANNA, if you give Catholic Charities a dollar, we could buy four cans of corn, so your dollar goes further. It’s amazing.”
MANNA serves 16 counties in western North Carolina. The food bank is a member of the national Feeding America Network and has been in operation since 1983. Its service area overlaps with Catholic Charities’ Western Region Office, which serves people in need in the 12 westernmost counties of North Carolina – making the partnership something like a “one-two punch.”
PROVIDING WEEKLY SUSTENANCE
Each week, Catholic Charities western region food pantry receives between 1,500 and 3,000 pounds of food from MANNA – paying roughly $200 weekly for what amounts to about 90 percent of the food it distributes each Wednesday to more than 100 people.
Boeckermann says their costs have been increasing, noting they paid less than $100 for the same amount of food prior to the pandemic and continuing inflation.
“Partnerships like this are so important,” Boeckermann says. “Since COVID, it’s a new world. Inflation is something everybody is feeling when they go to the grocery store. We couldn’t do what we do without MANNA.” Through this effort, MANNA and Catholic Charities also help families pay for monthly housing expenses, such as mortgages and utilities, by saving them one or two trips to the grocery store, he adds.
The organizations work well together for the weekly food pantry distribution and two more monthly events. For the food pantry, which has been operating since 1998, Catholic Charities volunteers pick up the food from MANNA FoodBank in east Asheville every Tuesday morning and drop it off at the pantry. More volunteers organize the food and pack boxes. Then others pack special orders for non-food items distributed through the pantry such as diapers, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, pet food, toilet paper and other supplies not provided by the food bank.
After that, five volunteers operate the food pantry with setup, operation and breakdown. Another volunteer arrives on Thursdays to reorganize everything and get ready for the following week.
ON THE MOVE
MANNA and Catholic Charities also run a monthly mobile food pantry, an outreach started during the pandemic. Primarily held at local Catholic churches, “MANNA Express” is held on the second Thursday of each month.
The most recent event, held at Dora Reed Qualla Boundary Head Start in Cherokee, fed 110 families – a total of 467 people.
Catholic parishes hosting these mobile events include Sacred Heart in Burnsville, St. Margaret Mary in Swannanoa, St. Joan of Arc in Candler, Immaculate Conception in Hendersonville, St. John the Evangelist in Waynesville, St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville and St. Mary Mother of God in Sylva.
Boeckermann says the churches are the perfect location for this outreach because they have lots of volunteers and large parking lots – and he is grateful for the parishioners’ tremendous response.
Through 31 MANNA Express events, Catholic Charities has helped 2,136 families – a total of 8,603 people – across western North Carolina.
And they aren’t slowing down anytime soon. The next MANNA Express event will be held Oct. 12 at St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa.
PROVIDENCE AT WORK
Another local need became apparent during the summer of 2020. The principal of Woodfin Elementary School near Asheville contacted school volunteer Judy Butler to tell her about school families who had no food. Butler was already involved with MANNA Foodbank, so it was easy for her to go to the food bank and explain the need in Woodfin.
As it turns out, MANNA did not yet have a community partner in Woodfin, so they paired the community with Catholic Charities, whose office is just 10 minutes away.
“That worked out perfectly because we have a very large Hispanic population in this immediate area. Many of the same people also attend my parish, St. Eugene Catholic Church in Asheville, so it just all came together,” says Butler, who was recognized this year for her volunteer work when she received Catholic Charities’ Spirit of Hope Award.
What started as a drive-through distribution of food during the pandemic has turned into a true market. On the second Tuesday of each month, MANNA drives two truckloads of food to Woodfin Community Center, where from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Catholic Charities sets up a “MANNA Community Market” where clients shop for the items they want. The next event will take place Oct. 10.
“All we ask for anybody coming through the line is how many people are in their families,” Butler says. “We also let people shop for multiple families.”
Earlier this year, the Woodfin market peaked when it served 184 families, a total of 752 people, in only two hours. Like MANNA Express, these events also include the chance to pick up diapers, toiletries and other necessities, easing the burden on families in need. Through August 2023, the Woodfin Community Market has served 18,545 people.
Butler and Boeckermann say they sense God’s hand in the work they’re doing.
“I was in the right place at the right time and had the necessary knowledge as well as familiarity with the people who needed assistance,” Butler says. “I don’t credit myself with being smart enough to figure all of this out on my own, but I’m very humbled by what we’ve been able to do. This is an incredible service to the community.”
Boeckermann adds, “We couldn’t do the work we do with our small staff and dedicated volunteers if it weren’t for the grace of God and how He provides through the love that’s shown through Catholic Charities every day. Catholic means universal, and charity means love. We see the universal love of God on display every day in the work we do in western North Carolina and throughout the Diocese of Charlotte.”
— Annie Ferguson
Want to help?
Donations of food and non-food items can be delivered to Catholic Charities’ Western Region Office between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 50 Orange St. in Asheville. Financial donations can be made securely online at www.ccdoc.org/give and via check made payable to Catholic Charities and mailed to Catholic Charities, 50 Orange St., Asheville, N.C. 28801.
Interested in lending a hand? Volunteers for the monthly MANNA events or weekly food pantry should contact Hilary Kalisch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..