As of early May, the Lodge had collected an impressive 1,720lbs of food, putting them very close to their goal of 2000lbs.

“The Pennies for Manna initiative has done very well too,” added past master Mike Blakely. “We hope to start rolling soon.” The group’s members have filled two 16-litre water bottles so far.

Masonic Food & Donation Drive: June 1st

If you are picking up groceries at the Metro in Bracebridge on June 1st, please contribute generously to the group’s Masonic Food & Donation Drive. Volunteers will be there from 10 till 2. “We’re hoping this raises lots of money for Manna,” added Blakely.

Mike Blakely, Past Master of Muskoka Lodge 360 explained that the Lodge has selected Manna as one of its special beneficiaries for the year. The Lodge is always supporting one good cause or another. Their goal is to bring 200 lbs of food per month, or more than a ton this year, to Manna.

They also recently began a “pennies for Manna” drive, which kicked off with a 16 Litre water bottle donated by the Water Depot in Bracebridge. The bottle was already half-full by the end of their first meeting.

And making a hat trick, the group is planning to canvas for donations at a grocery store somewhere in Muskoka in early May. More on that when we have the details.

But in the meantime, many thanks for your good work, friends. We truly appreciate it.

Many thanks to the Gagnons and their friendly and helpful staff, and to you, for supporting Manna. We couldn’t do it without you!~

Get in the Habit

All year long, Manna is grateful for your donation of non-perishable food items. There are bins located near the checkout at both YIGs and Metro in Bracebridge. Visit our Foods We Need page to find out what foods are most helpful to our clients.

Our food costs increased by 25% in 2012, so your ongoing support is needed more than ever. It may sound overwhelming, but if you get in the habit of buying an extra item for Manna, you’re doing so much for our community.

Thank you!

Manna volunteers Sheila Gossen and Jim Brown accept an $8,100 donation from the Rotary Club of Bracebridge. Photo by What’s Up Muskoka.

Manna treasurer Jim Brown got a call the other day, asking if a couple of Manna volunteers could come down to the Rotary Club of Bracebridge to pick up a donation.

He and Manna volunteer coordinator Sheila Gossen were floored to receive a cheque for $8,100.00.

“This donation will go a long way toward helping with our increasing food costs,” Jim said in expressing his gratitude to Rotarians for their generosity. “Yes, the sun did smile this morning.”

While Manna’s client list has remained fairly consistent throughout the recession, food costs have soared 25% in the last year.

Abby & Rachael collecting non-perishable food items on Hallowe’en for Manna. Hope you got lots of candy too, girls!

What a wonderful initiative!

A big thank you to every trick or treater who collected food for the Manna Food Bank this Hallowe’en, and to all the households who contributed non-perishable food items to the larder.

We’ll send along the totals for the first Trick or Eat in Bracebridge soon as we receive them.

Food costs went up 25% last year, so we need you more than ever.

Very much appreciated!

Come meet some of the people who help keep Manna running smoothly. Learn about what Manna does for the community, how our year has gone, what we are planning for the year to come.

Coffee and sweets will be available.

For more information contact us at info@mannafoodbank.ca or phone (705) 646-0114, leave a message and a Manna volunteer will get back to you.

(Please note that the bus is free of charge. I think that note at the end should read bus is not Wheelchair-accessible!)

October 15, 2012  — We at the Manna Food Bank would like to offer the entire town of Bracebridge a hearty thank you for supporting last week’s Fall Food Drive, organized by the Muskoka Oldtimers Hockey Club.

Most people know about the Fall Food Drive now, thanks to the fact that the Muskoka Oldtimers Hockey Club have been organizing it for close to two decades, and thanks also to the churches and businesses that announce it on their billboards.

What you gave

Many of you dug deep, giving a total of 14,000 lbs of food and $2,300 in cash to the volunteers who went knocking door-to-door along many Bracebridge streets on the evening of October 2. This year saw the most volunteers ever, with more than 200 youth and adults, from the town’s elementary and high schools, Guides, Scouts, Cadets, service clubs and Beaver Creek inmates, pitching in.

A long list of Thank you’s!

As always, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Muskoka Oldtimers Hockey Club, led by Dave Salmon, for their hard work. This is a huge undertaking, and one of the most common comments we hear from new volunteers is how impressed they are with how organized it is.

The Fall Food Drive is Manna’s only community-wide food drive of the year, (the one at Christmas with the firefighters is for the Salvation Army, folks!) and it is an essential for keeping Manna going.

Additional events that week

It was a particularly bountiful week for Manna, with our friends at Investors Group organizing a comedy evening that raised $640 and 300 pounds of food, for which we are grateful. And Bracebridge Culture and Recreation hosted its first Zumbathon, in which 40 participants brought in $120 and 25 bags of food. Many thanks to Zumbathon organizer Fyonna Vanderwerf and instructors Margrit Eilles, Alison Barnes, Kirsten McCrea and Sarah Cripps for donating their time and Zumba-chops.

Food costs have risen 25%

We are particularly fortunate to have such a cohesive and compassionate community here in Bracebridge. While Manna’s client numbers have remained relatively steady throughout the recession–an initial increase and the occasional spike aside–over the course of the last year food costs have risen dramatically. Manna purchases a large quantity of the food it provides to its clients, and as we wind up our fiscal year, we find ourselves facing a 25% increase in food purchasing costs over the previous year.

Get in the habit of buying an item for Manna

So when you’re doing your regular shopping at YIGs or Metro, we encourage you to make a habit of purchasing one or two items for the Manna collection box, located just beyond the cash registers. Manna can never get enough pasta and sauce, peanut butter, jam, crackers, flour, white sugar and baby formula….See our Foods we need page.

Once again, thank you all for your support. We could not do it without you!

Your sincerely,
Wendee Cameron
President, Manna Food Bank.

Participants in the two-hour exercise/dance event, which took place at the Bracebridge Culture and Recreation Centre, raised 30 bags of food, a turkey, and $120 in cash.

“Not sure I can walk this morning after two hours of “zumba’ing”, said Manna president Wendee Cameron, “but it was great fun! Thank you to everyone who came out. And Happy Thanksgiving to all.”