Manna Café Ministries

About Manna and Kenny York

In 2004, Kenny York was a missionary in Nashville, TN, who utilized his love for cooking by overseeing a weekly meal for the homeless and poor. In 2007, he scrawled the plan for Manna Café Ministries in a notebook. In 2008, he took the first steps toward launching Manna Café by taking donated bread and sweets—and soon after, hot meals—into a local homeless camp, along with friend Vicki, who soon became his wife.

Manna Café was chartered as a non-profit in February 2009; fifteen months later, the Yorks relocated to Clarksville, TN, after area leaders expressed the need for such an organization. Three days later, the flood of 2010 hit, and Kenny launched full speed into disaster relief via food distribution. A few days later, Manna Café served its first mobile, outdoor hot meal to 35 guests.

Since then, Manna Café has grown exponentially. One meal per week has become five. The Food Box Distribution Program (much like a large food pantry) grew from 200 food boxes in May 2010 to more than 25,000 boxes just four years later, and it still continues to grow steadily. In a single year, Manna Café distributes 2.5 million pounds of food to families in Montgomery and Stewart Counties.

Food insecurity in the area involves more than 15% of the population (about 28,000 people). The percentage for children is 21.5%, a third of whom are not income-eligible for federal programs such as free school lunches. For this reason, Manna Cafe’s goal is to first meeting people’s basic need for food, and then guide them toward positive, permanent change.

In the fall of 2022, Kenny York went to his eternal home after a battle with cancer, and his wife, Victoria (Vicki) stepped in as CEO to carry his legacy forward along with a dedicated staff and countless volunteers. Manna continues to serve the community at least six, and often seven, days a week.