A Helping of Home
The Manna House of Hospitality at the Norwalk Emergency Shelter provides thousands of meals every month for needy families. Kelley Granger explores how people can help those less fortunate at this safe haven for the hungry.
MISSION
The Norwalk Emergency Shelter offers food and shelter to the homeless and disadvantaged. Those in need can stay overnight at one of the shelter’s 95 beds, eat one of hundreds of hot meals served daily at the Manna House soup kitchen, take home much-needed groceries from the food pantry, receive donated clothing and get supportive counseling to find success.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The idea for the shelter was born of the Greater Norwalk Community Council’s housing committee in 1983. It opened its doors the next year after a new nonprofit, the Norwalk Kiwanis Emergency Shelter Inc., was formed. Since then, the name has changed but the mission has stayed the same: providing shelter and food for individuals and families in need. Today, about 400 people volunteer at the shelter on a regular basis. Monetary donations from churches, private people and organizations are the second largest sustaining income for Norwalk Emergency Shelter, aside from financial assistance from the Connecticut Department of Social Services.
MOST NEEDED
Given the shaky economy, now more than ever the Manna House needs volunteers. The downturn has brought a surge in numbers as jobs have become harder and harder to come by. Carole Antonetz, the executive director, says that the number of meals served so far this year is 80 percent higher than this time last year. In 2009, they served more than 229,000 meals and gave many families the supplies to prepare and cook nearly 388,000 meals at home.
WAYS TO GIVE
Get Hands On | Volunteers who are 18 and older can pitch in during any phase of meal preparation, from purchasing the food to cooking and serving breakfast, lunch or dinner and cleanup. Volunteers often come in groups to work regularly. Rob Wilkinson, who has been serving meals for more than 20 years, comes with a group from the Wilton Presbyterian Church. “It is satisfying to be a help to anybody,” he says.
Stock Up | The food pantry offers groceries and is always looking for help preparing packages and organizing the pantry. While children aren’t permitted to serve food in the kitchen, they can sort food and clothing donations. Outside the shelter, food drives and donations collected by the community are a big help. Volunteer Shelly McArdle started showing up once a week and is now there almost daily. “I feel very grateful for what I have and it’s just a way of giving back,” she says. “It’s very rewarding, but it can be very frustrating. You can see the great need that seems these days to be getting worse.”
Raise Money (…And Spirits) | McArdle, who has helped run the food pantry for the last year and a half, says the most desirable volunteers are those who can commit to certain tasks or shifts, on a regular basis. If you can’t commit to regular shifts, consider hosting events or food drives. You can also collect business donations and silent auction items for one of the shelter’s biggest annual events, Walk a Mile in My Shoes. This year, the dinner and auction will be held at the Inn at Longshore in Westport on April 29. Tickets are $150. You can also attend as a volunteer for the evening and pitch in the night of the event.
CONTACT
To help, call Frank Concepcion at 203-866-1057 or visit Manna House on the Web at norwalkemergencyshelter.org.