Manna from Seven finds solutions to problems posed by the pandemic
Susan Seitz and Rose Patterson step out of an old brown Ford pickup in the alley behind St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on a cold Tuesday afternoon in February. The bed of the truck is mostly empty, but the flatbed trailer in tow is stacked 5-feet high with boxes full of an incoming haul of food for hundreds of hungry people in Vigo County who will show up for the food drive on Friday.
The weekly food drive, which has seen a spike in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, was one of the original seven’s first projects. The original seven volunteers started out by serving food from the sidewalks of downtown in May of 2018. It wasn’t until almost a full year later, in February of 2019, when the group came up with the name “Manna from Seven” and applied for 501(c)3 status.
Seitz, the CEO responsible for almost every decision made, said accepting help from the program can be an emotional experience for the people served because of the stigma and embarrassment of asking for help.
“People will show up in tears,” said Seitz.
Seitz and company aim to turn those heavy emotions into feelings of gratitude and joy every Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until the last family is served.
“Usually, we serve the last person well past one o’clock,” said Seitz.
Jane Penry, a regular volunteer with Manna from Seven, said Seitz and the program serve however many families arrive, even as the pandemic has swelled the numbers of the hungry.
“She doesn’t turn people away,” Penry said.
Penny Frederick, who also volunteers regularly, agreed.
The three volunteers were bagging coffee beans in the basement of St. Stephens over some casual conversation on one Tuesday. St. Stephens, which serves as a much-needed extra storage space for the food drive operation, was not always available to the group. Beforehand, they were running the food drive out of the bus garage at the intersection of Eighth and Cherry streets, bringing only the supplies they needed for that day’s operation.
“Because of the pandemic, our numbers skyrocketed; because in the beginning there were so many people out of work,” Seitz said.
As the numbers grew, Seitz called in the help of Pastor Andrew Downs. Because the church has not had in-person services since March 2020, he offered the church as a headquarters for Manna’s food distribution.
Since taking over the basement of St. Stephens, Manna from Seven has made it their own. Volunteers Penny Frederick and Chris and Rose Patterson have contributed labor and supplies to building wooden shelves for extra storage space, or a wooden dolly, which makes it easier to move and sort the goods once they arrive. They also made wooden shelves for the windows in which they pass the boxes of goods through when they arrive in the alley, making handling the transfer of goods safer and easier.
Seitz said the group reported serving more than 1,500 families and more than 5,000 total individuals in February 2021, which ranks among some of the highest totals they have seen.
Yes, the increased volume from week to week was a big step to overcome, and the multiple overflow rooms of storage in the basement of St. Stephens is a big help. Still, the group had another issue to overcome with the cost of the higher demand, but Seitz says the charity has gained some financial support from the community and local government.
“We have a variety of individuals and agencies, organizations, businesses, that donate cash on a monthly basis,” said Seitz. “We also apply for grants. In 2020, we received over $17,000 from United Way in three or four different grants.”
Seitz also said Manna has benefitted from a fund set up by the Vigo County Commissioners where taxpayer money is put into a community service fund.
“At the end of the year they gave us a check for $10,000. We use this to buy food from the Catholic Charities food bank. We get a discount there,” Seitz said.
Manna from Seven has formed a good relationship with other charitable organizations in the community, including the Catholic Charites food bank, as they have come together during the pandemic to pool resources and maximize their impact.
Seitz cited Covenant Cooperative Ministries, Providence Pantry in West Terre Haute, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as organizations that Manna from Seven have been working with to manage the current crisis.
“I try to network with all the other agencies that are doing similar work so that together we’re stronger. We can help each other, you know, if they need manpower, we can send it, if we need corn, they can send it, if we need freezer space, we can use theirs,” said Seitz.
Seitz and the group understand that their challenges with the pandemic are not over.
“I wouldn’t say that its easy street now, it’s still a concern to be able to finance this big of an operation. We have the partnership with Covenant, Providence, Catholic Charities — it all helps,” said Seitz.
Looking back at how they have handled themselves over the course of the pandemic, Seitz said there is just as much satisfaction to be found in how the community has received their hard work, and have found ways to show their gratitude, including posting “Thank You” GIFs and appreciation on the group’s Facebook page.
“I feel that there’s an awesome group of people that are here every week, working hard every week, and they love what they do. And when people take the time to comment on Facebook, their comments lean towards ‘you guys are so kind and loving,’ and I really like that,” said Seitz.
