In 2006, Buddy Bass and his wife, Jane Bass, started Manna on Wheels (MOW), a mobile kitchen ministry that provides a hot meal to families, children and people in need in Dover and the surrounding areas. The goal of their nonprofit organization is to show people the love of Jesus.
When they first began this faith-based feeding ministry, they were feeding the homeless in the parking lot of a church in Brandon and hosting weekly Bible studies. At one point, they were feeding nearly 700 people each week and sharing the Gospel.
“Our passion is to serve,” said Jane. “We not only want to feed the body, but we also want to feed the soul.”
Because of COVID-19, MOW was unable to operate many of its outreaches last year. The goal this year is to feed smaller groups of people while continuing to share God’s love. In addition, MOW has been renovating its kitchen on wheels and is excited to start heading out with the new kitchen to serve meals.
In April, MOW set up its mobile kitchen at the SUN ‘n FUN Lakeland Airshow to cook for the Aviation Ministry Support Association (AMSA) of Florida. This is a group of about 100 missionaries that participate each year at the SUN ‘n FUN and Buddy volunteers to cook and provide meals for the missionaries with the mobile Manna on Wheels kitchen.
MOW is actively seeking new volunteers to help serve in the community.
“We are looking for people to lead a crew of five to six people each to commit to one day each month to feeding the hungry,” said Jane. “Our goal is to have five crews to cover one day a month.”
If you are interested in helping organize a food drive or becoming a monthly supporter of Manna on Wheels, all donations to the 501(c)(3) ministry are tax-deductible. If you are a student in need of volunteer or community service hours, MOW is an available resource.
For more information, visit www.mannaonwheels.org. If interested in volunteering, please contact Buddy at 767-5708 or email Jane at jbass@mannaonwheels.org.
