Dear Manna Community,
It is with great pleasure that I announce that Manna has closed escrow on the property at 95 Oakview Drive.
The NEW home of Manna is a 3,056 square foot church on a 13,000 square foot lot about a mile from our current location.
This project has been ten years in the making. After a thoughtful, strategic planning process to consider how best to move Manna into the future to address hunger trends in our area we were able to locate a suitable property and enter into escrow. Every step of the process has been met with undeniable support for the project and a genuine desire to see it through to completion.
The church will remain for a few months while they finish the renovations on their new home, but after they vacate and we are able to remodel the building to suit our needs, Manna will have:
- A comfortable and inviting client intake and waiting area.
- On-site storage and inventory management for highly variable food stocks and selections.
- A Pantry arrangement that allows for a more efficient flow of clients.
- Covered, secure food donation delivery area.
- Commercial grade cold storage for valuable perishable items like meat, dairy and produce.
- Staff offices separate from the pantry area.
- Classroom/meeting space for volunteer trainings, client classes and staff and board meetings.
Manna’s new home will significantly broaden and strengthen the food insecurity safety net for the vulnerable in our community. With a facility that is four times larger than our current space and offers vastly improved access, we will be able to:
- Double the frequency of food distributions to clients from once to twice a month.
- Extend pantry hours to accommodate working clients.
- Serve more clients in the pantry at a given time.
- Reduce stress and support the dignity of our clients with shorter waiting times and an environment that is sensitive to their emotional as well as basic needs.
- Reach out to those who are unable to access our food pantry through mobile food distribution.
- Attract more volunteers and partners from the community to join us in our vital work.
The future of Manna will require the commitment and support of all who share in Manna’s dedication to reduce food insecurity and homelessness in the Conejo Valley. Friends and volunteers, businesses and corporations, civic groups and community organizations, philanthropists and foundations will all play an important role in ensuring that Manna remains the Conejo Valley’s oldest and most respected hunger relief organization so that we can make certain that no one ever goes hungry in our own backyard.
Please check back often as we keep our Manna family abreast of our progress.
With gratitude,
Jennifer Schwabauer
Executive Director
