From Mast General Store:
Mast General Store, Merrell Footwear, and MANNA FoodBank are partnering to provide children in the Western North Carolina area with weekend food, and you can help. For each pair of Merrell shoes purchased at Mast Store October 14th through 31st, Merrell will fill a pack with food to feed a child for a weekend.
In keeping with the traditions of a general store, the Mast Store strives to be an active part of its communities. The overall health of where Mast Store does business is important, so when the staggering figures on hungry children were brought to the forefront, they knew they couldn’t do it themselves. So, they looked for a like-minded partner, which turned out to be Merrell Footwear.
Merrell understands the need to support our youth and is actively encouraging young people to become acquainted with the outdoors and to be active through their own programs. With a mutual concern for children, who will be our next leaders, business people, and scientists, it makes sense that we should help them be able to learn and not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
This year marks the fourth year that Merrell Footwear and Mast Store have partnered together to benefit MANNA FoodBank for Food for Kids. The MANNA Packs for Kids Program is an invaluable resource that reaches out to provide at-risk elementary school children with food over the weekend. With their purchasing power, that can provide 3 nutritious meals for $1, and caring school personnel, we are all making progress in fighting hunger.
Shirley Humphrey, a School Counselor at Emma Elementary School in Buncombe County, said, “Many of my students have told me that the food they get from the MANNA Packs Program on Fridays was what they had to eat for the weekend. I have seen an increase in student optimism because of this program. The parents truly appreciate the help and the families really do use the food. This program has also increased awareness among our faculty and staff about the issues of poverty and hunger.”
Through the combined efforts of the partnership between Merrell Footwear and Mast Store, over 3,600 backpacks of weekend food were provided in 2012, but the need is still there. We all can make a difference. To find out more about how you can help fight hunger in Asheville, please visit mastgeneralstore.com.
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