This story was submitted by Fran Lytle as a nomination to the Reader’s Digest “Top 10 Nicest Places in America” contest: a crowd-sourced effort to uncover corners of the country where people are still kind and respectful in an era of cultural and political divides. If you know of a community, business, or nonprofit where kindness prevails, then be sure to submit a testimony or anecdote here before the June 5th deadline. (GNN will be one of the judges!)
Every Monday, a large group of volunteers serves a free hot lunch to everyone in Chincoteague, Virginia.
Manna Cafe CI was started by Fran and Bill Lytle in 2017 as a means of combatting food insecurity and providing a comfortable place for elderly people and the rest of the community to find fellowship.
On the first Monday, the café served 16 guests. Currently, they’re serving over 350 guests each week. The lunch is freshly made by Bill, who always prepares meals that his family loves. It always includes a main course, vegetables, tossed green salad, and dessert.
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Beginning in October 2017, Manna Cafe CI began delivering free hot lunches to people who are unable to leave their homes. The first time we did this, eight lunches were delivered. Now, Manna Cafe CI delivers almost 50 lunches every week, in addition to serving the hundreds of guests at the facility.
Stories about Manna Cafe
At Manna Cafe CI, a free hot lunch is served every Monday, including holidays. Since Christmas fell on a Monday in 2017, the Lytle’s wanted to have gifts for the children who would be enjoying lunch with their families on Christmas Day. They conducted a toy drive which resulted in more then 200 gifts for children, from toddlers to teens. When families arrived for lunch, children selected a present from the gift tables before enjoying lunch. The children were squealing with delight as…
