The MANNA Model
MANNA delivers 21 delicious, wholesome meals each week, personally tailored to each client’s medical needs, to help nourish our clients through the debilitating effects of their illness.
MANNA offers both individual and group nutrition counseling that is designed to educate and empower our clients and others to make the best food choices. All MANNA registered dietitians are licensed in the state of Pennsylvania and are members of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.
MANNA serves people who are at acute nutritional risk due to serious illness. We believe that food is medicine, and that nutrition will play a key role in their recovery.
Some examples of serious illness experienced by current MANNA clients include: cancer, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, renal failure, and diabetes. This is not an exhaustive list of diseases that may qualify a potential client, nor do these diseases automatically qualify an individual for MANNA services.
MANNA’s eligibility requirements are purely based in medical and nutritional indicators, we have no age or income restrictions. We also serve dependent children under the age of 18 who have a parent receiving MANNA meals as well as some senior dependents of our clients.
How Can MANNA Help?
Hear from our clients:
Kenneth and his family moved to Philadelphia when he was just four years old so he could receive a life-saving liver transplant. The transplant was successful, but the immunosuppressant medications he now requires leave him susceptible to illness, resulting in frequent hospital visits and so many school absences that he had to repeat kindergarten. Kenneth’s mom knew that he needed enhanced nutrition, and she found MANNA in her search for a program to help her son heal. Kenneth’s health is much better now, and he is excited to finish kindergarten and move on to first grade. He looks forward to his weekly delivery of MANNA meals and all the other joys of being a happy, healthy, nourished 6 year old – “He’s just so happy now,” his mother says.
Joe is a retired restaurant manager, proud veteran, and loving husband living with renal disease in Camden, NJ. After a year of receiving dialysis that culminated in an 18-day hospitalization, Joe’s nutritionist was worried he was not able to keep up with his complex dietary requirements. Fortunately Joe was referred to MANNA during this period of acute illness. Not only does Joe love the MANNA meals, but he believes they are the reason for the big improvements he has seen in his bloodwork and the improvements he has felt in his overall health.
Shawn is an optimist with an infectious smile. Her sense of humor keeps everyone around her laughing and has helped her stay positive throughout the years, despite an HIV diagnosis in 2001 and a diabetes diagnosis in 2015. “Some days are easier than others,” she says. Learning to manage both HIV and diabetes includes properly nourishing herself with a very specific diet, which is why MANNA is so important. Shawn explains that the best part of the MANNA program is the support of registered dietitians who give her helpful nutrition advice, cooking tips, and words of encouragement on tough days. Her health has improved and she is able to do what she loves with her family. “I do not let my health conditions slow me down and MANNA has been a major part of that.”