‘PEOPLE NEED THIS FOOD’ | Manna House surges as government help slows

Gladewater’s Manna House food charity is tracking about three times its average client traffic as struggling locals turn to the longtime outreach for help in the midst of the latest government shutdown.
Fortunately, Tony Handy says, big-hearted donors are stepping into the gap.
“We’re getting a lot of donations right now because there’s a lot of hungry people out there,” he said last week. “Everything helps.”
From just a few rooms attached to Gladewater City Hall, the public pantry provides a monthly box of groceries to anyone who resides in the Gladewater City Limits or Gladewater ISD. The only qualification requirement is an official document that shows a local address.
A water bill or electric statement’s just fine, Handy says. For the volunteers that keep the outreach running two hours a day, three days a week, the point is to get food into the hands of the people who need it.
“There’s a bunch of hungry people out there,” he repeated. Especially right now, “They don’t have their stamps, they need food.”
He greeted a steady stream of grateful beneficiaries Nov. 7.
“I hoped I could get some food,” one woman said, simply. “When your family is helping you with the bills, it’s hard to say, ‘Can you give an extra hundred bucks this week so we can eat?’ Because the food stamps didn’t come.”
She’d rather not dip into Manna House’s food stock at all and was already planning to stretch the staple fare as much as possible. Friday offered a choice between chicken legs or nuggets.
“My grandma taught me, when you have food stamps and nothing else, you make something from what you can get.”
Multiple groups of volunteers keep the House well in-hand from 9 a.m. to 11 Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. They’re getting ready for the holiday surge.
“We’ve got the Christmas boxes coming,” Handy noted, taking sign-ups as they come. The distribution is set for Dec. 10-11 in the gym at First Methodist Church of Gladewater. “We set up, they come out.”
There’ll be a variety, including mixes as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
“We’ll have toys for the kids. As long as you’ve got your name on something that says you’re from Gladewater, you’re good to go.”
While the outreach doesn’t have cash assistance available, there’s a clothing closet, stocked with all sizes and dutifully maintained by volunteers like Valerie Manley.
“I don’t think people know about this like they should,” she said. “It’s all donations, mostly from area churches. We have men’s clothing, women’s clothing, children’s, some babies. Right now we have some diapers. It just depends on what’s been donated,” including select shoes and hygiene products.
“We used to have a five-limit rule, but if they need more…”
For assistance or to make a donation, find Manna House at 517-A E. Broadway Ave. or call 903-845-3128.