Since 1990, the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance—better known in the city as MANNA—has been providing assistance to patients with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. As a leader in evidence-based nutrition services, the organization delivers meals to those in need while also offering hands-on cooking classes and nutrition counseling by bringing together dietitians, chefs, drivers, and thousands of volunteers.
However, now is the annual time of year for the city to give back to the charitable group—and you can do so in an extremely sweet way. MANNA’S Pie in the Sky fundraiser officially kicked off this past weekend and will run until Nov. 18. As a release states, funds raised through Pie in the Sky enable MANNA to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving meals and year-round services for people with acute nutritional risk from a critical illness such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, and more.
The pies are all baked in MANNA’S kitchen in Philadelphia, and to show your support, locals are invited to purchase the sweet treats for their family members, friends, or even a MANNA client, and/or a local soup kitchen.
“Over the years, MANNA has seen an outpouring of support from the community to help nourish our neighbors during the holiday season. As we kick off our annual Season of Giving with our 26th Pie in the Sky fundraiser, we encourage the community to purchase pies and help us continue to fulfill our mission of providing medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling to those who need it most,” said Sue Daugherty, MANNA CEO in a statement. “We are thankful for all our volunteers, supporters, and sponsors, and are looking forward to a successful season this year.”
The goal is to sell over 11,000 pies. All options are priced between $35 – $50 and can be purchased at mannapies.org now through Friday, Nov. 18. Orders will be available for pickup on Tuesday, Nov. 22 between noon and 8 p.m. at one of MANNA’s 17 pickup locations (which are listed online. )
What flavors are being baked up for 2022?
Pie in the Sky will feature a variety of options, including apple, berry, sweet potato, pumpkin, pecan, and gluten-free blueberry. And as the release mentions, MANNA is also proud to introduce a new helping hand this year, Special Touch Bakery, who will be baking a new Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for the fundraiser. ParetoHealth is the presenting sponsor for this year’s Pie in the Sky, along with abrdn as the Premier Sponsor, and Sysco as the Gold Sponsor.
“We are incredibly proud to serve as the presenting sponsor for the 2022 Pie in the Sky fundraiser to benefit MANNA’s mission and help our neighbors this holiday season,” said ParetoHealth’s CEO Andrew Cavenagh in a statement. “ParetoHealth’s core mission is in helping the communities where we work and live, and through our partnership with MANNA, we are able to provide support to our neighbors who are too sick to feed themselves and their families. I’m confident that MANNA will have another successful fundraiser and look forward to strengthening our partnership.”
Those interested in helping out the organization can also become a seller in 2022. On MANNA’s Pie in the Sky website, sellers can set goals for their team and find “fun and creative ways to meet them.” There’s also a Team Captain Guide on the website to check out.
And if you need more encouragement, MANNA is also offering an event jam-packed with plenty of charity and dessert—Pie Day, which will happen on Nov. 3 at Lincoln Financial Field. Through this event and the Pie in the Sky fundraiser, MANNA is able to prepare and fund their annual Thanksgiving Day tradition, where MANNA volunteers and staff spend their holiday cooking, packing, and delivering hot Thanksgiving meals to critically ill MANNA clients and their families.
Finally, if you’re still looking for other ways to help, the organization is also looking for volunteers to staff distribution sites and deliver pies on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Anyone interested can contact Courtney Straka at cstraka@mannapa.org.
For more information on MANNA, visit mannapa.org and to check out Pie in the Sky, visit mannapies.org
