Francis Fund Recipient: MANNA
Two years ago, Pope Francis launched the Caritas “One Human Family, Food for All” campaign by calling for an end the “global scandal” of hunger by 2025. The World Meeting of Families’ Hunger and Homelessness Committee has revisited this challenge by using the upcoming Papal Visit to address hunger and homelessness in the Greater Philadelphia Area. The Francis Fund supports the human family by raising funds and awareness for local organizations that will continue to fight for mercy and justice far beyond this month’s historic event.
MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) is one such organization, which has served the Philadelphia and Camden community for almost 25 years. Seven members of the First Presbyterian Church founded MANNA in 1990 as a direct response to the AIDs crisis. The organization thwarted the stigma surrounding this disease by delivering physical and spiritual support directly to community members in need. Dan Getman, Development and Communications Manager, explains that MANNA went beyond the call to feed the hungry. The organization hired a dietician and “refocused on the health of individuals” by providing the highest quality and healthiest meals possible, completely free of charge.
Eventually evolving to focus on any community member at “acute nutritional risk,” MANNA implemented 11 dietary restrictions to ensure specific nutritional needs are met. Volunteers prepare and deliver three meals a day, seven days a week, to ill individuals and their dependents at no cost to them. They provide delicious and nutritious meals on a six-week cycle, ensuring that efficiency never compromises quality and variety. MANNA currently serves about 800 people and covers a nine-county territory.
The distribution of meals will surely be affected by the Papal visit, but Getman explains that MANNA will treat it like any other holiday by delivering meals in bulk so recipients remain nourished during the World Meeting of Families. Rather than focusing on logistical challenges, Getman emphasizes the enduring positive impact of this event, explaining, “the visit puts our city in national and international spotlight...and reminds people to give back to their own community.” Emily Gallagher, MANNA Communications Coordinator, also expects the visit to “shine a light on these issues...poverty, homelessness, hunger.” The Francis Fund ensures that this awareness is accompanied by donations, which will sustain MANNA’s support for the sick and hungry. Gallagher explains, “money from the fund goes directly to feeding those in need. It will allow us to continue providing three meals a day, seven days a week.”
As MANNA nears their 25th anniversary, Getman emphasizes the importance of “community-wide funding initiatives” in promoting both donations and solidarity in Philadelphia. The organization’s emphasis on service is epitomized by the diverse array of volunteers hard at work preparing meals for those in need. Proceeds from the upcoming “Pie in the Sky” will fund MANNA’s Thanksgiving feast, which is prepared by about 200 volunteers who ensure that every family can enjoy a holiday meal despite physical and financial hardship. The organization’s multi-denominational service epitomizes Pope Francis’ call for practicing mercy and justice across socioeconomic and religious borders in order to support sick and hungry members of the human family.
