Montgomery Community Media

It’s SNAP Challenge week. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called Food Stamps. I—along with professionals and individuals from Maryland, DC, and Virginia—am attempting to shop for my household for one week on $33. While living on a food stamp budget for just a week cannot come close to the struggles Manna families […]

How many prongs do you see in the picture above? When you think you have counted them, count them again. It’s easy to look and still not really see some things. I was driving down Shady Grove Road towards Manna and noticed on the sidewalk ahead a father and daughter taking a stroll. Such a […]

Representatives of one of Manna’s generous donors came for a site visit yesterday and asked, “Does Manna do advocacy or just direct service?” We had a great conversation about the need to balance the demands of distributing food to hungry people with activities that address why people are food insecure in the first place.  In […]

Tucked between the letters of my keyboard this morning was an envelope with my name on it. The Lindsey that worked in an elementary school since 2010 saw this and thought, “Who’s getting married / having a baby / having a barbeque on Friday?” It turns out, the note was one of celebration. Inside, a […]

Yesterday I checked out this great video webinar called Good Food Rules: Nudging people towards healthier eating. In it, Dr. Mike Evans mentioned his four initial good health recommendations to patients: 1. Eat Well 2. Sleep Well 3. Get Out and Mingle 4. Walk Often The piece of advice about mingling might be the most […]

More and more, Manna Food Center is known not just as the group that gives out food from the back of our ever-present trucks. We are also an organization committed to supporting healthy lifestyles for all members of our community. Manna offers Nutrition Education in many forms  throughout Montgomery County, including this blog. Last weekend, it may have seemed out […]

The phrase “Going Green” may conjure images of this:                   But I’m thinking even closer to home:             A healthy, balanced diet means each plate should be a colorful rainbow of foods. Greens are an important part of that rainbow. Greens supply […]

What do you think of when you see the word “Light” on a food package? It might make you think the food is low-fat and nutritious—and that it will make you feel light, too. On Manna’s grocery store tours, I find that clients genuinely want improve their diet. If they don’t have the personal motivation, […]

It seems fitting to talk about exciting ongoings in The Meat Department the day I bring a leftover burger in for lunch. Okay, perhaps I should mention it’s a veggie burger. Now, I realize some people think becoming a vegetarian is a big mistake missed steak, but I don’t carrot all. Manna Food Center’s Nutrition […]

For my monthly kids’ cooking class at White Oak Rec Center, I thought a green theme would be fitting for St. Patty’s day next week–not to mention a wholesome way to celebrate National Nutrition Month. And then I remembered a far more thrilling celebration for elementary schoolers: Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2). While I was in […]