Desert Manna Food Pantry

During the year 2016, Desert Manna Food Pantry distributed 31,950 emergency food boxes to feed 84,809 low-income people living in our community of East Mesa. Compared to the previous year, the food pantry distributed food to 4,044 more people than in 2015. Our refrigerated truck makes a daily run to pick up food donations from about a dozen local stores, working in coordination with the United Food Banks "Enabled Agency" Program. We also receive several palettes of TEFAP Food (USDA) through the United Food Bank each week. With the help of about 25 volunteers each week we are able to keep the wait time on distribution days down to an average of between 30 and 45 minutes. We were approved for a grant from Mesa United Way, which we used to pay for a portion of the purchase and installation of a walk-in cooler, which gave us the ample storage space that we needed so badly. The rest of that project was funded by generous donors. Looking ahead to 2017, our goal is to install a walk-in freezer and we are looking at the possibility of purchasing a new refrigerator truck to cut down on the frequent maintenance and repair costs that we currently have. These have become a burden for us as we try to budget our monthly expenses and then something on the truck is needing to be repaired/replaced in order to continue the work laid out for us. Many of our volunteers are people from the community who, having benefited from the Food Pantry during a time of personal need, want to give back by helping us reach others also in need. Some volunteers are working off court-ordered community service hours, but majority of our workers are simply people who, out of Christian compassion, volunteer their time to help their neighbors in need.We continue to see God working in mighty ways, and though we are sometimes wondering how we will continue on, God always provides!