From press release
Asheville- MANNA FoodBank announced Nov. 12 that it is the recipient of a $25,000 Community Health and Benefit Investment from Mission Health to help fund the MANNA Packs for Kids Program. The program provides emergency food assistance to public school students throughout Western North Carolina, a region in which one in four children do not have access to enough food for healthy development.
Hunger is bad for everyone, but not having enough of the right kinds of food is particularly devastating to young children. The rate of childhood food insecurity in the counties in MANNA’s service area ranges 4 to 8 percent higher than the national average. Studies have shown that there can be serious implications for a child’s physical and mental health, academic achievement and future economic prosperity.
“The food insecurity numbers for children in our region are very concerning,” says MANNA Executive Director, Cindy Threlkeld. “Many children in Western North Carolina dread the weekend because it means no school meals; it means hunger. Thanks to the support of Mission Health and our community, children in this program can have food in their stomach on Saturday and Sunday.”
Each Friday afternoon during the school year a healthy parcel of food is placed in the backpacks of children enrolled in the MANNA Packs program. A pack contains foods such as whole grain rice, cereal, fruits and vegetables. In the 2013-14 school year, an average of 4800 MANNA packs were slipped into backpacks each Friday.
About MANNA Food Bank
MANNA FoodBank is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving Western North Carolina since 1983. As an accredited member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, the mission of MANNA FoodBank is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger in Western North Carolina. MANNA serves 211 community-based non-profit food assistance agencies in 16 Western North Carolina counties and distributed 12.8 million pounds of food in 2013. To view MANNA’s Annual Report for 2013, or for more information, visit MANNAFoodbank.org or call 828-299-FOOD.
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