Thank you BB&T for your kindness.

Saturday Aug 21st and last night Wednesday Aug 25th we picked bugs & beans. The average weight of beans picked was 26 pounds that average weight of bugs was 100 pounds….. I am kidding but it sure feels like 100 pounds. Tom stands there and shakes his head.

I was told that the farmer’s market beans have now sky rocketed to $ 2.39 per pound this week, so that shows we are not in this battle alone.

Thanks to all the BUG PICKERS…..we are serving garden fresh beans at MANNA MEAL.

James, Martha, Judy, Donna, Jim, & LeilaKay, Kania, Rusmeenee, Jean, Mimi, Leila, BobKay, Kania, Rusmeenee, Jean, Mimi, Leila, BobKay, Kania, Rusmeenee, Jean, Mimi, Leila, Bob

shoppers who didn't know they wanted to string beans today

Taken a break to enjoy some ice cream Know the Bible story about the miracle of the loaves and fishes? Manna Meal experienced its own miracle of the stringbeans on Saturday, July 31. There were no beans to be found in Charleston on Friday just hours before the well publicized Bean String’in event that was to fill the soup kitchen freezer for cold winter months. Jean Simpson, Executive Director of Manna Meal scoured the Capitol Market and called area produce wholesalers without finding any beans….No, not one. Can’t get em, she was told. The event was about to be beanless when Judy Gancs of Robbie’s Produce dropped off 5 cases of string’in beans as a donation an hour before the event ….later it was noticed that nearly all the Market vendors had and were selling beans to support the event. They never ran out of beans all day long and now the soup kitchen walk-in freezer is packed with produce frozen for winter. It took a community of friends and supporters to make this event a huge success….and successful it was…..if you attended or participated in any way YOU were part of the miracle of the stringbeans…where did all those stringbeans come from?

Taken a break to enjoy some ice cream

Tammy brought a whole gang

This is actually fun

enjoying good conversation

Extention Agents and Master Gardeners helped out

Mom and son spending quality time

The deck was a great place to sit and string beans

Family stringin can be educational too

These ladies from Madison incorporated string'in into their marketing day

Mom said her son wanted to watch the musicians

Living4Hymn donated a 2.5 hour set

some mighty pretty bean stringers

Manna Meal Bean String’in helped fill the freezer for winter. The total weight on the beans after strung was 300 lbs And 40 lb of corn. It was a great afternoon at the Capitol Market and the music was wonderful.  Thanks to all who participated and many thanks to Living4 Hymn for donating their time and talent.

Many, Many, Many thanks What a blessing  all the volunteers were that day……..

And the girls and guy that blanched and froze all the beans and corn that late afternoon in the Manna Meal kitchen.

working over boiling pots of water, blanching beans

Packing blanched beans for freezing

Rev. Jim Lewis & James Martin

Board Member & Volunteer Hit Hunger Out of the Park took place on July 1, at the WV Power baseball game. It was a beautiful evening for a baseball game and to honor all of our volunteers. The evening was two-fold as our volunteers were honored during pregame with a slide show presentation and grateful words read from the announcer. The Annie Campbell Legacy Award was created in memory of Annie who volunteered daily at Manna Meal for over 30 years. The first recipient of the award was James Martin, a 27 year volunteer. James was presented a plaque from the staff of Manna Meal and an autographed bat from the 2010 WV Power team. All the volunteers and crowd cheered as James threw out the first pitch. The evening was also a fundraiser for Manna Meal, with donations being received and raffle tickets sold for a chance at winning an autographed baseball or bat from the Power team. This was our first year to combine our volunteer recognition and a Summer fundraiser. Manna Meal staff and Board of Directors would especially like to thank Allen & Peggy Johnston for making our “sea of green” possible. There was no doubt that Manna Meal was in the house with 500 t-shirts being worn!

Rev. Jim Lewis, founder of Manna Meal presenting the Annie Campbell Legacy Award to James Martin, 27 year volunteer

More of Manna Meal's awesome volunteers

Pregame Volunteer Recognition

A look at our "Sea of Green"

Victoria, Barbara, Janet, Elizabeth, Sarah & Bob

Rev. Jim Lewis (founder of Manna Meal) & Judy Lewis, Board Member & Volunteer

More smiles for Manna Meal

Jean and Mr. Volt

Bobby & Brenda

Bob Rodecker, President & Rhondell Miller, Outreach Coordinator

All smiles for Manna Meal

Looking great in their green!

James Martin throwing out the first pitch

Melvin working the crowd for donations!

Visiting before the game

Angela Rexroad with cabbage plants

The early 8:30 AM gardening hour was planned to allow work to be done in the cool of the morning…there was plenty of dew on the garden….or maybe all the plants were just sweating. It didn’t take long for everyone to join the ranks of the perspiration-drenched workers in the great out of doors today. Spirits were not dampened however. Mike Green of Green’s Feed Store gave us 3 trays of late flat dutch cabbage this morning, and we got busy and planted the stunted, hole-riddled plants with the prayer they would be blessed to produce heads. We filled one entire raised bed with them…tucking each into a hole with rich mulch and a little drink of fish emulsion and spritz of bT to deter the cabbage moths. More could not have been done to give them a happy home. Empty sections of garden–here a little, there a little–were tilled and cabbage plants lovingly were tucked into new homes to grow….some lucky ones got to go under the shade of the sunflowers that towered overhead. There was minimal harvesting this morning but a lot of hard work rendered. What a great sweaty team we had today! The team: Eleanor Spohr, Judy Darr, Angela Rexroad, Jay Rexroad, Martha Mallan, Liz Hereford, B. Peyton Forbes, Nancy Broyles, Tom and Myra. Jean was excused today.

Eleanor Spohr planted cabbage today

Nancy Broyles helping with the cabbage planting

Jay & Angela Rexroad, Nancy Broyles, Martha Mallan, Judy Darr

We agree with you Abbie....it has been a long evening and everyone is tired

The youngest workers select a tomato to take home

On Thursday evening, July 22, the heaven’s smiled. The heavy downpours that had been predicted to continue the entire week ceased and the ground dried to make this session possible. Little children and students were invited to come out and work alongside gardening regulars and to help with the first potato harvest. Two and a half rows of Yukon Gold potatoes were uncovered, pulled up and collected by the young first-time volunteers–one volunteer was only two years old. Children a bit older also helped plant peppers after the harvested  potatoes freed up some space. All children selected a tomato to take home. One young man hoed and helped with many more difficult chores. Mom and daughter helped carry vines to the compost pile! Adults harvested peppers, weeded and planted new sweet bell pepper plants in the fenced garden. Adults hoed, weeded and harvested herbs, flowers and all ripe tomatoes. The humidity and temperature were high but it didn’t dampen enthusiasm a bit. A reporter and photographer from the Charleston Gazette came out and took a photo of two of the children harvesters at the event. Their photo appeared in The Charleston

Abby and Grace Plants

 Gazette Friday morning and was titled “One Potato…Two Potato.” The crew for the session was: Angela Rexroad with niece and nephew Abbie and Rocky Davis, Betsy and Shike Keene with granddaughters Abby and Grace Plants, Mom and daughter team Teresa Westfall and Tessa Dillon, Deb Mattingly and son Nathan Parsons, Danita Nellhaus, Scott W. Mansour, Bob Lockhart, Peyton Forbes, Jean Simpson, Tom and Myra. Gazette reps were Julie Robinson and photographer Lawrence Pierce.

Rocky Davis finds potatoes

Abby Plants shows off a grand potato that she found

Teresa Westfall and her daughter Tessa Dillon helped harvest many potatoes

Abbie Davis says she LOVES gardening and wants to come back to help plant next year

Abbie and Rocky Davis work tirelessly to plant peppers where potatoes used to be-yes they are wearing gloves

Peepaw Shike Keene helps Grace Plants with the harvest

Nathan Parsons helped glean the potato patch by moving some of the leaf covering

Abbie Davis is going to be a Master Gardener

Grace helps Peepaw with potato gathering

Manna Meal Volunteers have provided meals to 1.12 million people since 1978. Every week, more than 75 volunteers are on hand to serve breakfast and lunch each day.

The award is crystal clear and a bit difficult to see. It will be on display at the Soup Kitchen for your enjoyment too.

The Manna Meal display table at the Volunteerism Conference July 20-22