Last year, The Original Manassero Farms donated 250,000 pounds of fruits and vegetablesto feed those in need.State Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, is scheduled to honor the Irvine-based grower for its charity today at the Westminster Family Fitness Day, an annual event launched by the senator to promote exercise and healthy eating.
The sun rises this morning as dew dries off gardenias planted at Manassero Farms headquarters at Jeffery Road and Walnut Avenue in Irvine. The farm is scheduled to be honored Saturday for its produce donations.
For the past four years, Dan Manassero, who founded The Original Manassero Farms in 1976, has donated corn, strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, green beans and melons to Loaves and Fishesx10, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit. The organization then distributes the produce to food banks, shelters and churches in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
“It’s a shame to throw it away,” said Manassero, a third-generation Orange County farmer. “(Loaves and Fishesx10) is doing all the work. I’m just donating stuff.”
Westminster Family Fitness Day was created to encourage better eating habits among low-income families who might otherwise turn to fast food or similar options. The farm’s contributions aligned nicely with that goal, said Asia Cunningham, Correa’s district director.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Sigler Park, 7200 Plaza St., Westminster. Correa will present the resolution at 11:10 p.m.
Friday 10th at Irvine Valley College the president of L&F x10 had the opportunity to speak
about hunger on a panel which included Dan Manassero and Danielle Aslam.
Dan Manassero has and is a continued donor to L&F x10 and we were glad he accepted the
invitation to come out and share his expertise and also his opinion on what he feels
about hunger in Orange County and also how hunger can be addressed. The meeting
was for one hour with great topics.
Hunger statistics…
DID YOU KNOW?
Orange County has the 3rd highest population in the state of California at
approx.3,055, 745 residents*. *(Source:US Census Bureau Release Date: April 2012)
30.4% of Orange County Households are unable to meet their basic
needs,90.9%of these households are working families.
1 in 8 Orange County residents face food insecurity, including
1 in 5 children.
Enrollment in Food Stamp program sin Orange County increased 37%in
2010, demonstrating the need for affordable and nutrious foods.
391,380,or 13.1%, of Orange County residents face food insecurity.
Of those residents, about 41%are not qualified for SNAP or other govern‐
mental nutrition program.
33.7% (211,000) of low‐income household sin Orange County ex‐
perience hunger at least once a day.
Gospel Light C.O.G.I.C. 3135 W. Warner Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92704Santa Ana, CA 92704 7147182930
Date and Time
Friday, April 26th at 6:00pm to 7:pm Prayer for the Santa Ana COH..7:pm to ? is Worship
Ticket Details
N/A
Age Limit
All Ages
Details
If you haven’t attended one of these gatherings then make this one your first. Those who have come testify that they have a God encounter and are refreshed. Don’t miss out on a personal encounter with God. This will be a gathering across the denominations of the body of Christ coming together to worship as one for the Lord our God is One!
Robert Flournoy, president of Loaves And Fishes x10, unknowingly began his journey into fighting hunger when he made a commitment to help support seven (7) homeless people in Tustin, CA . For an entire year, he mainly used his personal income, with a few donations from friends and family, to provide them with hygiene products, food, and meals during the holidays.
In 2001, he volunteered with the food bank at his church, Templo Calvario, which serves thousands of people each week. His role included providing support to families who lived in hotels and low-income apartment complexes in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Tustin by arranging much needed grocery deliveries as well as offering teachings from the Gospel. As time passed, he became more and more involved with the food bank and went on to volunteer with Obras De Amor. It was there, he began to get involved with larger events such as renting out school parking lots and giving out over 50,000 lbs. of food to the community. His experience in event planning and food distribution through the food bank, led him to be in charge of food distribution for We Care America and We Care Santa Ana which are both projects of Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation. These events supplied enough groceries to feed 5,000 families each week.
In 2010, Robert became the Outreach Coordinator for Love Community Outreach of Santa Ana where his job was to help procure enough food to support 50 Churches and the surrounding community as well as have Evangelical food distributions and network with other ministries.
In 2011, after serving and being faithful to other organizations, he took a leap of faith and officially founded his own organization, Loaves And Fishes x10, where he is very dedicated to feeding the community both physical and spiritual. The organization collaborates with local food banks and arranges gleaning opportunities for them on farm lands throughout Orange County. In addition, Robert recruits volunteers and arranges food distribution campaigns. Today, he is excited about starting his own organization because he can see the hard work it takes and also the blessing it brings. He is very excited about gleaning because it has taken this organization to a another level of support for the community.
Because of his passion to serve God, Robert Flournoy has always supported the community after his work hours with dedicated ministry work and a humble heart.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:9-10
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