UPDATE (5:32 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9): Manna Meal’s food distribution services have gone uninterrupted despite the St. Johns dining location closing temporarily.
Amy Wolfe, the Executive Director for the nonprofit organization, says their mobile truck will allow them to continue to serve meals.
“We’ve gone mobile and we’re able to make sure that people are still fed and that we’re getting food to those in our city that need it,” Wolfe said. “It’s just altered. We’re pivoting. It’s a pivot in our service. We’re going to reevaluate and hopefully we can go back to dining service at some point in the near future.”
Wolfe says there is currently no timetable for when their dining room services will reopen.
Manna Meal regulars including Christiane Gamos say now they have to find another place to eat, but that not everybody has somewhere else to go. With the winter approaching and temperatures cooling down, Gamos says that could present a challenge to a lot of Manna Meal’s customers.
“I can put up with it for awhile and take it over there to eat,” Gamos said. “I’m one of the lucky people who get to do that. But I don’t know about the other people, how they’re going to carry it, eat it…It’s going to be cold. It’s going to be inconvenient for me. I’ll have to cook at home, I guess. I can survive my own cooking.”
UPDATE (2:17 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9): A man arrested after allegedly lunging at a woman with a child outside of Sacred Heart Elementary School was what caused Manna Meal to pause its soup kitchen operations.
According to a criminal complaint, Shawn Kanode, 38, of Charleston “made a lunging motion” toward a woman who was holding a child.
Kanode wouldn’t give his last name until he was under arrest and at the booking office, the criminal complaint said.
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — At a time when more people than ever are experiencing food insecurity, a brick-and-mortar soup kitchen that so many people count on is pausing some of its operations.
Manna Meal says during this pause they will only use their food truck to help those in need.
According to a press release the pause is “In light of a recent incident involving an arrest at a neighboring property downtown…”
The non-profit operates its soup kitchen out of St. John Episcopal church in downtown Charleston.
13 News is working to determine the specifics of the incident referenced in the Mana Meal press release. The executive director said they are grateful to the Charleston Police Department for protecting the community.
Manna Meal has been helping those who are hungry in Charleston for 40 years.
Executive Director Amy Wolfe says that the community’s security is a top priority.
She went on to say: “A common misunderstanding is that the only folks who utilize our services are experiencing homelessness. That’s just not true. For some members of our community, the meals they receive from our kitchen are making the difference and preventing them from losing their home. Food security is a pathway to homelessness prevention – and prevention is our best tool as a community in the fight against homelessness.”
Breakfast and Lunch will be offered at the following locations each day:
Breakfast will be served from 7:30-8:15 am at the Equinox Men’s Shelter located at 505 Leon Sullivan Way and from 8:30-9 am at the corner of Virginia Street and Park Avenue in the parking lot at the old Save A Lot on Charleston’s west side.
Lunch will be served from 11:30-12:15 pm at the Equinox Men’s Shelter located at 505 Leon Sullivan Way and from 12:30-1:35 pm at the corner of Virginia Street and Park Avenue in the parking lot at the old Save A Lot on Charleston’s west side.
