SHAMOKIN - The quarterly meeting of Manna for the Many Board of Directors was held July 24 at the food pantry.
Gene Boughner, board vice president, opened the meeting with prayer. There were several Manna volunteers who attended the meeting, and board members and volunteers introduced themselves before getting to the meeting agenda. The secretary's and treasurer's reports were submitted and accepted.
Grethel Vinup, presenting the quarterly report, said there were 710 visits to the food pantry during this period, averaging 50 visits per week. A total of 11,585 food items were given out this quarter. Manna currently has 695 clients, with 52 new clients signed up this quarter. Manna received 1,893 food items from the post office food drive in May and a $500 donation from the Sons of Italy.
Volunteers reported there is a need for help with inventorying and stocking the shelves, a process which occurs at 9:30 a.m. Mondays. There are only two people helping with this part of the food pantry operation at the present time. The organization needs people to unpack and count the food donated to the pantry and place the food onto the shelves. The work involves counting items and putting them in order on the shelves. Volunteers must be able to lift. The organization hopes to obtain five or six volunteers for this work, which takes only about an hour each week. Volunteers can just show up at the food pantry at that time. Any questions can be forwarded to Mannaforthemany@yahoo.com.
The group discussed requirements for clients coming into the pantry. Clients are only required to show photo ID and proof of residency during each visit. An example of proof of residency would be a recent utility or phone bill with the client's address on it. Manna currently serves the Shamokin Area, Line Mountain and Southern Columbia Area school districts.
There was continued discussion regarding the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the possibility of purchasing food there for distribution at Manna. The Rev. David Wildoner, vice president of the Shamokin Area Ministerium, said that there are churches willing to take care of obtaining the food, storing the food and getting it to the pantry when it is needed. It was decided to have the ministerium move ahead with organizing those efforts.
Letters encouraging harvest home food collections will be sent out in September. Manna tries to encourage collection of fruits and vegetables at that time of year, but welcomes any non-perishable food items.
Manna welcomes both food donations and monetary donations to the food pantry. Monetary donations can be made in memory of or in honor of someone. Monetary donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 129, Shamokin 17872.
The next quarterly board of directors meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the food pantry, 144 E. Independence St. All meetings are open to the public, and all are welcome
Harry Deitz closed the meeting with prayer.