MANNA sees great drop in food donations despite increased need, as supply chain struggles

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — MANNA FoodBank has seen "significant challenges" in its food donations since the pandemic began, despite increased need in its services from the community.

MANNA served 130,000 people in March 2021, and prior to the pandemic, that would be around the number of people the food bank would serve in an entire 12 months, according to MANNA staff.

Now, supply chain issues and rising prices are exacerbating that problem, according to Kara Irani, MANNA's marketing and communication director.

"Many food retailers, which is where we get the majority of our food, they experienced lockup overnight," Irani said.

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Labor shortages and shipping issues as the economy tries to rebound have created problems within the supply chain, impacting everything from the price of aluminum and lumber to even chicken wings.

Irani said meat, in particular, has become difficult for MANNA to come by.

"One area where we have seen a lot of lock-up is in meat and protein. That is so vital for us because we work very hard to not just provide food that people need, but the kind of nutrition, and a full plate of food, that you really want to be able to have," Irani said.

Irani said these issues have led to dwindling food donations from retail partners.

She said typically, over 80% of the food MANNA gets is donated and that when compared to the same quarter last year, donations are down about 30%, if not more, this current quarter.

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Now, MANNA has to buy food to fill that gap. The high prices mean its dollar won't stretch as far, though, so they're getting creative, Irani said.

"If everyone is going to the grocery store and seeing those same high prices, so are we, and it has absolutely made a big impact in how much we need to source and where we're sourcing that food from," Irani said.

These issues also come during a time when the need remains historically high, Irani explains.

As of March 2021, we are still seeing the highest need for food in our region that we've ever seen," Irani said. "We're hoping that our April numbers will come in and we'll see some better numbers. We will hopefully start to see recovery happening in our numbers.

She said they've been fortunate to see some local produce donations coming back with the warmer temperatures, but there's a long way to go to be able to fully support everyone in need in Western N.C.

"We have been very lucky that local -- especially local fresh produce providers, local farmers -- they have recently started getting back up and running and so we are seeing some donations come in from that," she said.

She said MANNA has also been fortunate to have community support during the pandemic, which it will continue to rely on through the ongoing challenges.

"We have been so lucky that this community has cared and been so compassionate from the beginning of this, and truly, we have used every single dollar that has come into MANNA to ensure that we are getting food out to people that need it that day," she said.

She said the best way the community can help MANNA continue to serve families in need and overcome the supply chain struggles is by donating.

The best thing that anyone can do is make a donation," she said, "because we can take that dollar and then turn it into 4 meals' worth of food with our partnerships and resources.

To make a monetary donation to MANNA FoodBank, visit donate.mannafoodbank.org.