January Missions Emphasis
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January Missions Emphasis – Manna On Main Street
The Missions emphasis for January is Manna on Main Street. Lansdale UMC has provided financial support for Manna for many years. Numerous members of Lansdale UMC have also volunteered at Manna.
Manna on Main Street is committed to ending hunger in the North Penn region by providing food, fulfilling social service and education needs, and conducting community outreach. Through a food pantry and soup kitchen, emergency financial aid, counseling and referrals, and education opportunities, we serve those in need with the hope “that everyone might be fed.
Manna was founded in 1981. At the time, there were many unmet needs in the community. The government and other local agencies were simply not able to respond to needs for food, housing and other emergencies. Under the leadership of Reverend John Touchberry of St. John’s United Church of Christ, local churches and caring individuals from the community came together. Out of that gathering, Manna was born. When a building next door to St. John’s was donated by a parishioner, Manna on Main Street came to life.
In April of 2012, Manna moved to 713 W. Main Street, expanding operations from 800 to 5,300 s.f. In 2016 Manna moved again to their new home at North Penn Commons (NPC), expanding operations to about 6,300 sq ft. NPC is an innovative partnership to co-locate facilities and share client programming with Advanced Living Communities, the North Penn YMCA and The PEAK Senior Center. In 2024 Manna on Main Street’s Online Market Hub (the Hub) opened. For the first time in our 43-year history, Manna is serving people out of two locations, with the goal of reaching more people in need than ever before.
The Hub, located at 10 N. Cannon Ave., in the heart of Lansdale, marks a dramatic expansion of their services amid skyrocketing demand for food.
The Hub allows Manna to:
- Expand fulfillment of online orders of groceries (clients can now order 24/7 and pick up five days per week instead of three).
- Increase in-person grocery shopping hours at Manna’s Market (coming in 2025).
- Scale our delivery of groceries directly to homes in the greater North Penn region.
The Hub also functions as the central receiving site of food donations for all of Manna’s Market operations and for Manna’s Kitchen to-go meals, transporting food to Manna’s North Penn Commons site daily. Food donations should now be dropped off at the Hub on weekdays and at North Penn Commons on weekends.
Today, with a staff of 31 and a robust volunteer force of hundreds, meals are served, food is distributed, funds are provided for emergencies, and education classes are held to lift up our community. More importantly, Manna on Main Street is a place where all people are welcome – people in need and people who want to serve to improve the health and well-being of our community.
If you would like to volunteer at Manna you can go to the link below for more information:
