Manna FoodBank Scarce

As most Americans prepare for Thanksgiving, 35 million Americans, including over one million in North Carolina struggle to put food on their tables, and food bank inventories nationwide - including MANNA FoodBank - are scarce. Please make Thanksgiving a time to recommit to helping those who face hunger in Western North Carolina. We've made it easy for you. From now until the end of the year, you can donate food at any Ingles store in WNC; just look for the red MANNA barrels. And find the placard at the register that asks you to add a dollar to your grocery bill, and instantly, you will have made a difference.

Want to do more? Help reach our Senators Dole and Burr about a critical vote. The Senate stalled debate on a Farm Bill that could bring much needed hope to food banks and hungry Americans. Food banks are suffering as a result of a more than 70 percent decline in support from a federal food aid program in recent years. Strong agricultural markets have led to drastic reductions in food purchased and distributed by the Federal government.

Shelves continue to go empty every day that the Farm Bill is not enacted. MANNA has 6 partner agencies in Clay County that served clients 18,811 times with a total of 183,627 pounds of food last year. To help more, we need a Farm Bill this year that provides increased funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and strengthens the Food Stamp Program. Specifically, we need at least $250 million a year in mandatory funding for TEFAP, with the amount indexed for inflation to ensure that we can continue meeting the increased need for emergency food assistance in Western North Carolina.

The House of Representatives passed its version of a Farm Bill in July that would provide more than $4 billion in new investment in federal nutrition programs. The Senate is expected to resume debate on its version of the bill following the current Thanksgiving recess.

Hunger is a solvable problem, but the charitable sector cannot do it alone. Please contact Senators Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole today and urge them to pass a Farm Bill and bring home a victory for our hungry neighbors in our community. You can contact the Senators via a special Farm Bill hotline (800-826-9624) or through their websites: dole.senate.gov or burr.senate.gov.

Sincerely, Kitty Schaller

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