School-Based Programs
We support families with school-age children through weekly bags of shelf-stable items, monthly market distributions at schools, and grocery gift cards for families.
Our community comes together to support families with students
- Participating schools support families in one of the following ways:
- Weekly bags of shelf-stable foods to supplement weekend meals when school breakfast and lunch aren’t available.
- Monthly market distributions at schools that make it convenient for families to receive fresh produce and pantry staples.
- Grocery gift cards to supplement families’ monthly food budgets.
- Staff at participating schools identify students whose households would benefit from receiving supplemental food support.
- Volunteers collect food from Manna’s warehouse and pack bags for weekly delivery to schools.
- Manna purchases fresh produce and pantry staples for monthly market distributions.
- Schools recruit volunteers to help with distribution at monthly market distributions.
- Manna purchases gift cards for schools to distribute to supported families.
On this page:
Impact
40% of households across the Washington region who are food insecure have children in the household. Half of all students in Montgomery County Public Schools qualify for free and reduced meals.
Our school-based programs provide much-needed support to these families. During the 2024-2025 school year:
108,300
108,300 weekly bags were sent home to families at 76 schools.
249,410
249,410 pounds of food were distributed to 41,151 people at monthly markets at 10 schools.
4,521
4,521 gift cards were given to 415 families at 8 schools.
Get involved
Partner
Businesses, faith-based organizations, and neighborhood groups can volunteer to support our weekly bags program.
Volunteer
Help pack pallets for weekend bags and monthly market distributions at our warehouse.