MANNA
Goal
Provide for the basic human needs of Hartford’s most vulnerable citizens: the homeless, children and families in crisis,
and low-income frail seniors. Our long term goal is to introduce our clients to the network of Hands On Hartford programs and
community resources and, ultimately, a future marked by self-sufficiency.
- Hartford is the 6th poorest city in America.
- MANNA serves almost 100,000 meals a year.
- Hartford’s first soup kitchen was established by MANNA.
- Hands On Hartford offers Connecticut's first and Hartford's only weekend senior meals program.
Why MANNA Is Important
Hartford is the 6th poorest city in the United States. Homelessness, hunger and poverty afflict our city in large numbers.
Cultural barriers, chronic unemployment, lack of education, substance abuse or a combination thereof, can prevent many people from overcoming these
overwhelming conditions. MANNA helps people living below the poverty line by:
- Preventing hunger among the elderly, children and families through meals served at elderly housing centers, by operating a soup kitchen, and by providing provisions from our food pantry.
- Preventing families from losing their heat and electricity when they are in financial crisis.
- Preventing homelessness.
- Providing participants with emergency assistance, advocacy, information and referrals to collaborating agencies.
How It Works
MANNA (Meals, Assistance, Neighbors, Nurturing, Advocacy) offers the following services:
- MANNA Community Meals is a soup kitchen located at 45 Church Street in the Parish House of Christ Church Cathedral, serving homeless adults and people whose lives are caught up in the downward spiral of substance abuse, unemployment and chronic mental illness. Lunch is served each weekday, plus dinners on Monday and Tuesday nights. MANNA Community Meals also offers community dinners on eight holidays throughout the year (New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas) which bring clients, staff and volunteers together for the sharing of food and fellowship.
- MANNA Assistance and Advocacy is a family intervention program that operates a food pantry and provides security deposit assitance, referrals, and other basic services to assist Hartford’s low-income individuals and families. The program is located at One Buckingham Street, in space provided by South Congregational Church. It aids children and families in time of distress and steers families away from the constant threat of crisis and toward the economic spirit of the community.
- MANNA Senior Community Cafe is a weekend nutrition and social program for Hartford’s low-income elderly population. It is the city’s only weekend program providing meals and social interaction for low-income seniors. We provide weekend congregate meals to seniors at Betty Knox Center on Woodland Street and at Smith Towers in the Charter Oak neighborhood. The program also provides meal delivery to homebound seniors. Seniors who participate in this program have an easier time making ends meet, maintaining proper nutrition and avoiding the pitfalls of social isolation.
Role of Volunteers
Volunteers play two important roles at MANNA: they help with operations and they provide positive interactions and support to our
city’s poor, elderly and displaced residents.
The elderly, in particular, gain from the personal relationships that develop
with volunteers. These relationships help them avoid the trap of social
isolation that is pervasive among seniors, especially those living alone. Interaction with families, single parents, and children is
also important as they work toward social and economic independence.
Impact
MANNA embraces a disciplined approach to track and measure participation and impact in our programs. In a recent year, MANNA provided:
- 12,809 lunches and take-home cold pack dinners to seniors at our community meal sites: Betty Knox Housing Complex, 141 Woodland Street in the Asylum Hill neighborhood; and Smith Towers, 80 Charter Oak Avenue in the Sheldon/Charter Oak section of Hartford.
- 9,454 meals delivered by volunteers to home-bound elderly too frail to travel to the cafes.
- 23,873 meals to 1,482 homeless and low-income adults at the soup kitchen at Christ Church Cathedral on Church Street.
- More than 76,000 pounds of groceries to 517 households through the food pantry at One Buckingham Street (South Congregational Church). Most families using the food pantry were single mothers with more than one child.
- 1,265 meals to homeless and/or low-income people on New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- $15,944 in funds for security deposits, furniture and/or appliances to 163 individuals and families.
