November Nonprofit Spotlight
MANNA
As a reminder to order your annual Thanksgiving pie, we have selected MANNA for November’s Nonprofit Spotlight!
Who They Are:
MANNA uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. By providing medically tailored meals and nutrition education, we empower people to improve their health and quality of life.
MANNA brings together dietitians, chefs, drivers, and thousands of volunteers to cook and deliver nutritious, medically appropriate meals and provide nutrition counseling to neighbors who are battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, renal disease, and HIV/AIDS. From hands-on cooking classes and nutrition counseling to the delivery of 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, MANNA provides nourishment, hope, and healing to the Greater Philadelphia area, Southern New Jersey, and beyond. In 2020, we delivered our 17 Millionth Meal.
Volunteers have been the heart of MANNA since our founding in 1990. Each year more than 9,400 caring neighbors donate approximately 56,000 hours of their time in the MANNA kitchen. Together they chop, dice, cook, and package meals enabling MANNA to provide meals and counseling at no cost to our clients. For them, each freshly prepared meal is a reminder that the community cares. Love is the secret ingredient to our nourishment.
MANNA is an essential service in the City of Philadelphia, and our facility remained open through the COVID-19 pandemic. We follow all local, state, and federal health and safety requirements. At the peak of the virus in 2020, we delivered 38,000 meals per week to some of the Philadelphia region’s most vulnerable citizens.
What kind of support does MANNA need the most right now?
Due to social distancing and additional safety measures, we have drastically reduced the number of volunteers allowed in the MANNA kitchen. It’s more important than ever that those shifts be filled, as we have less people for more work. If you do not feel safe volunteering, you can make a financial contribution to help us offset additional expenses – for example, the purchase of pre-chopped onions in the absence of enough volunteer manpower to chop hundreds of pounds of onions! Learn more about volunteering and/or make a donation at mannapa.org.
What is one thing you wish people knew about MANNA that they may not?
Not only does MANNA prepare and deliver meals in the greater Philadelphia region, but also we have The MANNA Institute – a nationally recognized research arm. MANNA’s research on the benefit and cost-savings of food as medicine has impacted policy nationwide.
What is the most unique donation MANNA has received?
This is a tossup – either an in-kind donation of tens of thousands of dollars of labels or 14,000 Girl Scout Cookies! Both much appreciated and put to good use.
For more information, feel free to visit their website: mannapa.org.
