ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Manna Food Bank, located in Mills River, is working hard to recover after Hurricane Helene hit last fall. The storm caused severe flooding, overwhelming their warehouse in Asheville.
Micah Chrisman, the director of marketing and communications, explained, “We moved our food to higher ground, but it wasn’t enough.” The floodwaters were unlike anything they had experienced before. Chrisman described a “wall of water” that wrecked their facility, damaging everything from the building’s walls to essential equipment.
Alongside physical damage, Manna lost millions of pounds of food, which was crucial for their pantry partners. For 30 years, In His Hands Food Pantry in Brevard has relied on Manna to serve around 100 families. When the hurricane struck, they worried about how to continue helping those in need.
Zachary Dobbins from In His Hands expressed concern during the crisis. Yet, he was amazed when Manna was back in action just two days later, relocating operations to the Western North Carolina Farmer’s Market. “I couldn’t believe how quickly they were back up and serving the community,” said Judy Rothe, also from In His Hands.
In the two weeks following the hurricane, Manna served more than 8,000 families. Remarkably, they had been working on securing a new facility since 2018, and just days before the storm, their board approved the purchase of this new location.
The complete build-out of the new facility will take two years, but Manna is making progress with the help of generous donations. One significant boost came from a benefit concert called Concert for Carolina, which raised an impressive $24.5 million for recovery efforts across multiple organizations. Manna received $3.2 million from this event.
Chrisman stated, “We used the funds for new pallet jacks, operational equipment, and an updated IT infrastructure, all necessary to get food out to those who need it.” The concert’s proceeds are positively impacting over 200 partner agencies, including In His Hands Food Pantry.
Rothe shared her gratitude, saying, “It was incredible to see so many people care about our community. We felt supported. We were no longer alone.”
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