Last Wednesday, I volunteered at a wonderful nonprofit organization in Montgomery County. The Manna Food Center strives to eliminate hunger through food distribution, education, and advocacy. On Wednesday, Manna focused its volunteers on preparing Thanksgiving food packages for over 400 families.
The organization's Food for Families program feeds approximately 3,300 Montgomery County families each month. Through Manna's Agency Food Distribution program, the organization also provides food to dozens of agencies including soup kitchens, food pantries, group homes, and emergency shelters. For the past 5 years, the organization has focused on the healthy eating habits of children through its Smart Sacks initiative which partners Manna, businesses, and elementary schools to provide children with backpacks full of kid-friendly foods every Friday so they have food on the weekends when there are no school meals to sustain them.
This is a great nonprofit to volunteer with; the staff is friendly and the work is fun. Moreover, there is a desperate need for volunteers as food distribution centers have become swamped by demand. Food insecurity is on the rise due to the economy, and food distribution centers are seeing a huge increase in those that they serve as a new demographic of society becomes eligible for assistance. Over 50 million Americans are considered to be "food insecure", and a recent survey from the Food Research and Action Center found that almost one in five Americans struggled to afford food for themselves and their families over the past year.
Food Banks Swamped by Demand, Washington Post
