By Tim Gardner
The MANNA FoodBank will host another Community Market on Wednesday, November 15 at the Old Rock School Gymnasium in Newland. The gymnasium is located at 185 Shady Street and is adjacent to Newland Elementary School.
Anyone or any family struggling financially to afford groceries is not only welcome, but encouraged to go there then to receive free grocery staples, fresh produce, and perishable items from the MANNA FoodBank.
The Community Market will open at 11:30 a.m. and will remain so until its food items run out. It will have touch free and drive-through pick up service.
The date for this Community Market was changed, as it’s normally held the second Thursday of each month.
For further details, contact Tammie Woodie by phone at (828) 733-6006 or by email at tammywoodie@averyschools.net. More information about the Community Market can also be obtained by calling Avery County Parks and Recreation Director Robbie Willis at (828) 733-8266 (or visiting him in his office, which is located in the Old Rock School Gymnasium) or Dick Larson of the Feeding Avery Families organization at (828) 260-5389.
“Our MANNA FoodBank Community Markets have been held in Avery County for several years and dozens of people, sometimes very high in number, have gone home with boxes loaded with various food items,” Woodie said. “Robbie, Dick, and myself encourage everyone who needs food to come to any, or all, of the Community Markets we host. It’s a blessing for us and all others involved to help those in need of food. I ask all who read this article to please tell others about our Community Markets and post on your social media and/or web page to help spread information about them.”
The Community Market needs volunteers to help with the packaging of food items and their distribution to recipients. Those interested in volunteering for this most needy cause should contact Woodie at the previously listed phone number or email address for further information.
“I deeply appreciate everyone who helps, or has helped, with the Community Markets in any capacity,” Woodie added. “Our staff can always use volunteers to help us. And everyone who helps will receive a great blessing and tremendous self-satisfaction from doing so. Truly, one of our greatest spiritual callings is to help others in need.”
MANNA FoodBank, headquartered in Asheville, NC, is a private, not-for-profit service organization working to end food insecurity in the 16 counties of Western North Carolina, including Avery County and the Qualla Boundary (territory in Cherokee for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). MANNA links the food industry to more than 200 partner pantries and other human service organizations to get food to thousands of families’ tables through compassion and dignity.
MANNA stands for Mountain Area Nutritional Needs Alliance. It is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. To learn more about MANNA FoodBank, log online to its web site: MANNAFoodBank.org or phone (toll-free) MANNA’S Food Help Line at 1-800-820-1109.
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