Resource Spotlight: Manna Meal

For those who without a kitchen, transportation, mobility, or time, prepared meals can fill gaps groceries can’t. Manna Meal embodies the belief that everyone deserves access to nutritious meals. The West Virginian nonprofit, located in Charleston, also embodies their slogan, “So the hungry can eat,” by serving 400 people who experience food insecurity each day. That’s around 146,000 meals served each year.

No Questions Asked Since 1976

Manna Meal was born in 1976, shortly after the late Reverend Jim Lewis, a priest and social justice advocate for disadvantaged people, met a hungry community member and made and served him a peanut butter sandwich. While the man ate, Reverend Lewis spoke to him, spent time with him. Not long later, he founded the Manna Meal, and the Charleston-based nonprofit hasn’t missed a meal since, not even on holidays. 

Operating on a philosophy of “no questions asked,” over the last fifty years, Manna Meal has transformed into a robust community kitchen and food pantry that nourishes hungry locals in a welcoming, nonjudgmental environment, via an East End dining area and a West Side food truck.

Manna Meal’s guests include people who receive Social Security payments, people without housing, and single parents. The organization has created an environment guests want to return to, again and again. 

Bella is one such guest. A Ukrainian refugee living in West Virginia, Bella visits Manna Meal twice a day, walking an hour and a half each trip. She depends on the organization to “make ends meet,” and she finds the Manna Meal staff both professional and welcoming—so welcoming she’s come to know them, their names, their stories.

While out in the community, Bella is happy to spread the good news of Manna Meal to struggling Charleston residents. As a result, she’s come to know her fellow guests as well. “A lot of those individuals show up,” she said. “Everyone who visits Manna Meal, they’re my family.”

You Can Tell When People Care

In 2007, driven by a desire to feed guests through dinnertime, Manna Meal opened their emergency mobile food pantry, the only Charleston food pantry that’s open on weekends. Initially Manna Meal depended on donations to fill the space, but over time, they shifted to buying food to keep up with growing hunger needs. 

The nonprofit is expanding and will soon release three 22-foot long mobile kitchens in Charleston to feed hungry people who experience transportation barriers.  

They’ve even hired one of their guests, Earl, a former men’s shelter resident who became a Manna Meal regular, visiting the establishment daily. After a couple months of eating there, a new role opened up in the organization. Earl applied, interviewed, and got the job, plus a new Manna Meal t-shirt. 

“You can tell when people care and when they don’t,” he said. “The folks at Manna Meal care.”  

Manna Meal Events

One way Manna Meal helps Charleston residents eat is through the nonprofit’s annual Hunger to Hope benefit dinner. They also host the Pasta with Purpose event, serving spaghetti meals to guests. 

At Capitol Market, during Manna Meal’s Bean Stringin’ event, participants buy green beans from West Virginian growers and string them together, as a group. The beans are then frozen for use in the nonprofit’s kitchen. Bean Stringin’ has resulted in 1,000 pounds of beans for Manna Meal. 

How You Can Help

Manna Meal needs support to continue serving the Charleston community. The nonprofit is currently raising $300,000 to sustain their mobile operations, so consider sending them a donation. All donations are tax deductible and will be directed towards feeding hungry people. 

If you live in or near Charleston, you’re welcome to help out as a volunteer or purchase from Manna Meal’s Amazon Food Pantry Wish List. When your order arrives, you can drop off those donated items at their office, located at 706 Central Avenue. Feel free to also connect with Manna Meal on Facebook, subscribe to their newsletter, or send them an email.