MANNA FoodBank is the only food bank serving Western North Carolina, covering 16 mountain counties and the Qualla Boundary, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Before Hurricane Helene struck in September 2024, it served about 158,000 people a month. The storm destroyed its Asheville headquarters, and the organization moved fast to a new base at 99 Broadpointe Drive in Mills River, where it has been rebuilding capacity, including new cold storage that opened in 2026. Claire Neal serves as CEO.
MANNA is the backbone of emergency food in Western North Carolina, sourcing food at scale and distributing it through partner agencies across 16 mountain counties and the Qualla Boundary. Because it is the sole food bank for the region, the agencies that feed people in this part of the state depend on MANNA, which makes its capacity a matter of regional resilience, not just one organization’s output.
Claire Neal serves as CEO, having joined MANNA a few years before Hurricane Helene from a nonprofit background in Seattle. Her tenure has been defined by the disaster and the recovery: leading the organization after its Asheville headquarters was destroyed, securing and standing up the Mills River facility, and rebuilding the cold storage and capacity the region depends on.
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina and destroyed MANNA’s Asheville headquarters and warehouse. The organization secured a lease on a Mills River warehouse and moved immediately so distribution could continue during the disaster. Backed by community foundation grants, it has been rebuilding at the new site, including a freezer and cooler facility that opened in 2026. Demand rose sharply after the storm, on top of the roughly 158,000 people a month MANNA served before it.
Yes. MANNA FoodBank is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Given its role as the sole food bank for the region and its post-disaster rebuilding, donations here have outsized local impact.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through mannafoodbank.org. The recovery has made both especially valuable, and cash gifts give MANNA the flexibility to rebuild and buy exactly what the region needs.
North Carolina is divided among regional food banks. MANNA is the sole one for the western mountains, while Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina covers the Charlotte region and other food banks cover the Piedmont and east. For anyone in Western NC, MANNA is the organization to support.
Agencies across 16 mountain counties and the Qualla Boundary.
Rebuilding capacity after Hurricane Helene at the Mills River site.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food brought into remote mountain communities.
Sources: MANNA FoodBank website (mannafoodbank.org), GuideStar (EIN 58-1514800), and 2025-2026 reporting from WLOS, Asheville.com, and Food Bank News on the Helene recovery and the Mills River facility. We are not affiliated with MANNA FoodBank and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More North Carolina and food-bank resources