Organization

209 Manna Ministries, a non-profit, volunteer run food pantry, founded in 2013.

Mission

“to provide food, toiletries, and school supplies for college students at Virginia Tech. Customers will be welcomed by open hearts, open minds, open arms, and open doors”. MM is a pantry that provides food, toiletries, and school supplies.

Location

209 W. Roanoke St. Blacksburg, VA. In the Wesley Center, right outside the Virginia Tech campus.

Contact Info

209MannaVT@gmail.com

(540) 552-2827

Hours of Operation

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00-6:30pm.

Collaborations

MM tries to collaborate with other food pantries and community gardens in the area.The pantries they are currently collaborating with are:

• the Giving Tree Food Pantry at Fieldstone United Methodist Church
• the Interfaith Pantry run by Blacksburg United Methodist Church

Customer Base

Any VT student who feels as if they are lacking food and supplies can apply to shop at MM. The fact that the sole customers of this food pantry are students makes this pantry unique. More than sixty percent of VT students receive financial aid every year. This financial aid often goes straight towards school expenses without leaving any funding for food. Anywhere from 35-55 students a week are served, and these students are usually not traveling long distances, rather, they are from Blacksburg and the surrounding area.

Food Sources & Storage

Manna Ministries gets most of their food by donations from the local community. Most of these donations are from student groups on campus completing community service projects. It is not difficult to work with these local producers or donors, but what is difficult is storing some of the donated food.

MM is working on improving the efficiency of food storage especially items that must be refrigerated, as a way to improve their pantry efficiency. The only standards for the food they accept are that they do not want these food items to be expired or spoiled.

Shopping Process

The shopping is based on a point system that allows the students to shop and maintain their dignity. Each good is worth a certain amount of points, (ranging from 1 to 6), and each shopper is allowed 50 points to shop with each week. The shops is set up just like a store. This allows students to choose food they like, as opposed to receiving goods they dislike, are allergic to, or can’t consume for religious regions.

Transportation

Personal vehicles transport this food, so it is up to volunteers to keep the pantry in stock.