Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Manna Café Ministries announced Thursday the kick-off of their Manna Madness in March and an expansion of their programs to include housing and more participation for the community online.
Manna Café Ministries is a faith-based organization devoted to meeting the needs of homeless and low income families in Montgomery County. Each week, Manna café provides hot meals and food boxes to over 1,600 local citizens.
Kenny York, co-founder of Manna Café Ministries told organization board members and community leaders at a press conference that 1n 2013 Manna Café distributed over one million pounds of food in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
Working to increase those numbers of the amount of food, York said they normally give a family a 30 pound box of food and has gone up to 60, 70 or more pounds of food which is passed out to over 100 families a day.
Manna Madness is a program where the organization is at some location in the community and holds a food drive or other activity every day in the month of March. Local churches, businesses and volunteers will be supporting the work of Manna Café Ministries throughout the month.
Friends of Manna Café, is the new online program to grow support for the work of Manna Café and encourages monthly giving to help provide food and shelter. A $35 donation each month will enable a local family to receive a 60 pound box of food. All funds raised remain in Clarksville-Montgomery County and help feed those in need.
With all of the frigid weather the area experienced over the last couple of months, Manna Café worked to open warming shelters. Working with local churches the organization was able to provide a warm place to stay and a hot meal as the temperatures dropped to dangerous levels.
Another program that Manna Café is working toward is a permanent homeless shelter which will be known as the Refuge. Vicki York appealed to the citizens of Clarksville to get involved with The Refuge. York said over the winter it is a warming shelter and during the summer it can become a cooling shelter.
Kenny York said everything we’ve done is to build up to The Refuge. “The vision I had at the beginning of Manna was to have a shelter. I’ve been kind of teasing with that idea and this year we moved into that and I’m really excited about that,” York said.
Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers attended the press conference and talked about Manna Café. “I think your program is fantastic, you and your wife have done a great job and this has been such a huge assistance to the community. I just applaud you to see it growing,” said Bowers.
To learn more about Manna Café Ministries and their new programs like Friends of Manna Café and The Refuge visit mannacafeministries.com, email infor@mannacafeministries.com or call 931-933-0970.