This month we want to acknowledge the hard work of Manna Ministry in Arkansas City, and the great work they’ve done to develop a community of strong supporters for the work they do.

In addition to serving over 300 families each month at their pantry, one of the important tasks that they have risen to is grocery store rescue.  In Arkansas City they have a Country Mart, Dillons, and Walmart and the folks at Manna Ministry have managed their relationship with these important donors very well.

One of the struggles our agencies who participate in a grocery rescue program face is having enough refrigerator and freezer space to store the product they receive.  Even though they had 10 dedicated freezers, they didn’t have enough space to meet the need, and not nearly enough space for refrigerated perishables like produce and milk.

Because of their hard work they managed this past year to buy and install a large walk-in cooler and freezer that has made a world of difference in their ability to continue to grow their program for their community.  In 2012 they rescued over 88,000 lbs of food from the grocery stores in their community making them truly an agency worth our spotlight.