The holidays are the season of giving; giving love and giving thanks. The holidays are also about helping those in need. Read below to hear about one such giving story.   We reached out to our Community Food Rescue network to see if any of our donors had extra or special donations they could post to their ChowMatch account
Continue Reading

Exciting news in the Farm to Food Bank world! Manna Food Center has received funding from the Healthcare Initiative Foundation to pilot Contract Growing with farmers in Montgomery County. This new relationship builds upon our current Farm to Food Bank program , which purchases local produce, meat and eggs from 35 farms in Montgomery County and donates the food to our Community Food
Continue Reading

High-schooler Benjamin Shoykhet promoted the event on the US Chess Federation’s website. “Join us for an afternoon of outdoor fun among the chickens, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl as we play chess to help reduce food insecurity in Montgomery County, Maryland.” While playing chess on a farm may seem a bit strange, for this kid
Continue Reading

By Cheryl Kollin, CFR program director I was scanning the Washington Post last fall and read with great interest the article, “ Extreme weather and climate this summer challenged Mid-Atlantic farmers ”. The story featured Tom Farquhar of Sandy Spring Gardens , one of Montgomery County’s Farm to Food Bank farmers. I asked Tom how the article came about. He told me, “I contacted the Post after
Continue Reading

“The pandemic brought to light how fragile our [local food] supply system is,” notes Nazirahk Amen, Purple Mountain Organics farmer, who sees how supporting our local food system is vital to our community’s health and well-being. That’s why he participates in the Montgomery County Farm to Food Bank (F2FB) program . The program — a collaboration between Manna Food Center , Montgomery County Food Council , and the Montgomery County Office of Agriculture — started in summer 2020,
Continue Reading

The Montgomery County Farm to Food Bank program , born last year at the height of the global pandemic to help both farmers and people who are food insecure, was an idea that continues to flourish. Thanks to Montgomery County and Greater Washington Community Foundation , Manna Food Center received a grant to purchase freshly harvested produce, eggs, and meat from local farms. These products are then donated to
Continue Reading

Be Part of The Solution!