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Volunteers like Art St. John and Michael Castaing help unload the MANNA Food Truck at the Hiwassee Dam Senior Center. The center hosts MANNA on the fourth Wednesday of every month to help the community. -
Lynn Hamby (center) and her daughter, Bethany Sharkey of Hiwassee Dam, present a check for $1,500, which she raised by taking the 200-mile challenge for hunger. Whitney Campassi (left) of Asheville is accepting the check for MANNA Food Bank.
Hiwassee Dam – COVID-19 brought with it uncertain times for many people living in western North Carolina. Mountain Area Nutritional Needs Alliance has seen an increase of 73 percent of people needing food assistance in western North Carolina.
Kara Irani, director of marketing and communications for MANNA, said the numbers have been slowly decreasing since April 2021, but they are still well above pre-pandemic numbers. MANNA Food Bank covers the 16 western-most counties in North Carolina, and Irani said Cherokee County’s numbers are up 40 percent since January 2020.
“In September 2020, around 3,500 people in Cherokee County was accessing emergency food,” Irani said. “Normally we would have five partner agencies in Cherokee County, but during the pandemic only four were open.”
One of those was the Hiwassee Dam Senior Center, which was closed to the seniors during the pandemic but was still a hub for the community to get food distributed from MANNA and the monthly Mobile Market. Local resident Lynn Hamby continued to volunteer to distribute food to the local community during the pandemic alongside Jane Stiles and Michael Casting.
“We still delivered frozen meals to 32 seniors once a week and the Farm to Family boxes from the Truett Baptist Association,” Hamby said. “The pandemic affected this area and our seniors were afraid to get out, they looked forward to our visits even though they weren’t more than a door dash. It helped them and brightened their day.
“MANNA is a blessing.”
Hamby, who has worked at the senior center for four years, became accustomed to seeing MANNA delivery personnel, including Keeka Tomlinson. Hamby said Tomlinson inspired her when she left MANNA to begin hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money to end hunger.
“I spent most of my adult life overweight, and I started dieting and exercising and lost 150 pounds,” Hamby said. “I wanted to do something to help, and Tomlinson said there were things I could do like short walks to raise money for hunger.”
In January, Hamby and her daughter, Bethany Sharkey, a biology and earth science teacher at Hiwassee Dam High School, began walking at least 3 miles everyday. Hamby – coordinator for Modern Woodmen of America in Hiwassee Dam, who also volunteers with 4H – applied for matching funds from the organizations for the 200-mile challenge.
“Some days were easier than others, especially when it was storming or cold weather,” Hamby said about the walks. “Some days it made me appreciate what Tomlinson and her husband were going through on the Appalachian Trail.”
Hamby and her daughter finished the 200-mile challenge on Feb. 12, a couple
of days before their goal of Feb. 14. The pair raised $1,500 for MANNA Food Bank.
“With the pandemic, we wanted to do something to help, and MANNA has meant so much to our area,” Hamby said. “In December, there was such a need that at the drive-through distribution we had almost 500 people served. I love working with MANNA, and I feel like I’m really doing something to help others.”
MANNA Food Bank has distributions in five locations in Cherokee County, including Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Church, Truett Baptist Association at Andrews First Baptist Church, Cherokee County Food Pantry, Cherokee County Sharing Center and Murphy First Baptist Church.
For details about a local MANNA Food Bank distribution location, call the MANNA Food Helpline at 1-800-820-1109.