Dear Supporter,

I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the beautiful arrival of spring and the progress against the pandemic! In the midst of the good news, I wanted to share with you that today is #DoMore24, the DMV's largest annual 24-hour online fundraiser. In the spirit of "give where you live," I ask you to consider making a donation to Manna today, if you can. Your support is critical to our mission of ending hunger in Montgomery County, in more ways than you might think!

When the community considers “barriers to food access,” we don't always think about limited transportation choices, or lack of institutional trust; yet these issues affect large portions of our food insecure neighbors here in Montgomery County. 
Giving today will allow us to continue to innovate and collaborate with community partners as we all work together towards #FoodForAll. 

We are excited to share below how we're using recently purchased vans to reach homebound seniors, and how we're partnering with local immigrant organizations to build capacity for outreach into their communities. As I always tell my team here at Manna, no one agency can end hunger alone. Read on to learn about solutions coming from those we serve, service providers, and donors like you.
 
Thank you for doing your part to help us #DoMore24 as together we build a better future for everyone in Montgomery County.
Jackie DeCarlo
CEO, Manna Food Center
Serving Seniors
Montgomery County, like the rest of the United States, is experiencing a significant growth in its senior population, as well as in the growth rate of that population (meaning that the fraction which seniors comprise of the overall population is increasing). In 1980, seniors comprised 8.7% of the overall county population. In 2000 that figure had grown to 10.7%, and in 2019 it was 16.1%.

We anticipate this growth to continue, and with it the number of seniors who are turning to Manna for help: In fact, from 2019 to 2020, we saw a 70% increase in the number of new participants age 65 and older. When surveyed, many seniors cite budget and transportation as the most significant barriers to accessing nutritious food. Recognizing this, Manna has a number of strategies in place to help our elderly neighbors get the food they need:

  • In 2019, we started working with villages (local, volunteer-led, grassroots organizations that aim to support community members who choose to age-in-place). Village volunteers pick up food from Manna and deliver it to neighbors in need.
  • Also in 2019, we started offering Lyft rides to seniors who wanted to come shop at our East County Market; we look forward to continuing this service when it is safe to do so!
  • In early 2020, we piloted a home delivery program in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Initially run by CFR volunteers, we now have delivery drivers on staff and a dedicated refrigerated van. This program focuses on serving seniors and people with disabilities.
Tuned In

To learn more about how we are listening and responding to the needs of our seniors, check out Manna's Advocacy Task Force Chair, Lorna Forde, in a recent interview on Seniors Today, a monthly program produced by the Montgomery County Commission on Aging.
Serving Immigrant Communities
Client testimonial
One of our Multicultural Community Liaisons is SACU (Southern African Community USA). For the past few months, we have relied on SACU's community building and outreach expertise to reach individuals in the local Southern African Community who need food assistance.

Building institutional trust takes time and we are grateful to SACU and all of our MCLs for sharing their wisdom and resources with us as we strive to provide nutritious food for all in our community who need it.