Manna and Rotary team up to fight hunger

PENSACOLA — Rotary Clubs of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will once again join Manna Food Bank in the fight against hunger Feb. 24. Rotary Against Hunger is a project of the Combined Rotary Clubs of Pensacola (CROP) launched in 2012. The 7th Annual Rotary Against Hunger service project will create more than 60,000 meals that the CROP will donate to Manna for distribution in the two-county area.

More than 250 volunteers are expected to contribute to the project – a morning spent packing nutritious lentil casserole packets. CROP’s donation will provide much needed food to those in need. According to Manna Executive Director DeDe Flounlacker, the project has become a critical part of their ability to meet the needs of the hungry throughout the year in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

"The Rotary Against Hunger project provides much-needed food during winter and early spring when donations are always low, and need is always high," said Flounlacker. "Last year, Manna provided food assistance to 20,269 people; 42% were children under the age of 18. These are your neighbors and mine – folks who are the working poor, grandparents raising their grandchildren, moms and dads who do not have enough money to pay their bills and buy food for their family. Thanks to Rotary, thousands of people will be helped this year through this gift of nutritious food."

Since Rotary Against Hunger started, CROP has packed a total of 539,326 meals for the hungry, an important milestone surpassing the half million meal mark.

"This will be the seventh year that Rotary has teamed up with Manna, ensuring that these meals will be distributed in a manner that will serve the needs of many families in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties," said Ed Carson, Rotary Against Hunger Project Chair. "Through this project, Rotary is striving to exemplify Service Above Self, the Rotary motto."

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Manna and Rotary team up to fight hunger