Over the last 20 years, a food shelter has operated on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and in Truckee. Starting with a humble beginning in 1991 to feeding well over 34,000 families in 2010, Project MANA has dedicated itself to “Making Adequate Nutrition Accessible” for those in need of food in the area.

George LeBard, Executive Director of Project MANA will be leaving soon, retiring to his wife’s home country of Belize. He leaves behind a story of success in building the foundation of this organization and making sure that those in need have food.

Over that past 20 years, and much of that under George’s leadership, the program has expanded from Incline Village, to Kings Beach, Tahoe City and Truckee and beyond, touching portions of 4 counties in Northern California and Northern Nevada. They provide emergency food to those in need and aid in teaching nutrition programs to seniors down to kids in the class room. Their goal is to break the cycle of hunger to build a healthier and hunger free community.

All of this is done by a tireless staff of workers and volunteers, who reach out to the community for donations in various ways. They collaborate with more than 30 partner agencies: schools, churches, health and human services and other non-profit agencies in the region. They are a member of the Nevada Food Bank, the Serv-Safe Restaurant Association, the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and a United Way Partner.

Others, too work to make the goal of a hunger free community work. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised by cooking demonstration to planned events with all proceeds going to Project MANA. One such event is the upcoming Chocolate Fest on November 5, 2011. For more information see: http://www.tahoebonanza.com/ARTICLE/20110830/NEWS/110839995/-1/RSS

Almost as important as money is the creation of “friend-nations”. These are people that put on such events as cooking demonstrations, church luncheons, etc, that that help spread the word of the good and the need of MANA.

Project MANA is always looking for people to donate their time, talent and money to help feed our community. If you are interested in lending time or money, please call 775-298-0008 or visit www.projectmana.org.