By Tim Gardner
The MANNA FoodBank Community Market scheduled for Thursday, August 10 at the Old Rock School Gymnasium in Newland has been canceled due to heavy rain and predicted high wind gusts throughout the day in the town and area by the National Weather Service.
The Community Market is held monthly and its purpose is to help anyone or any family struggling financially to afford groceries by giving them free grocery staples, fresh produce and perishable items from the MANNA FoodBank. Community Markets feature touch-free, drive-through pickup service.
Today’s (August 10) Community Market was to start at 11:30 a.m.
“We regret that the weather Thursday will be bad during the time volunteers would be outside the gymnasium packing food boxes to give away, so the decision was made to cancel,” Community Market Director Tammy Woodie said.
She added that efforts are underway to obtain an alternate location to still hold future Community Markets when adverse weather conditions happen.
The next Community Market is scheduled to be held Thursday, September 14 at the Old Rock Gymnasium, beginning at 11:30 a.m. until the food runs out. The gymnasium is located at 185 Shady Street and is adjacent to Newland Elementary School.
For further details about the Community Market, 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 Feeding Avery Families at (828) 260-5389.
Woodie said the Community Market is also in need of 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 her for further information.
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. To learn more about MANNA FoodBank, log online to its web site: MANNAFoodBank.org or phone MANNA’S Food Help Line at 1-800-820-1109.
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