By MARIE NESMITH
“U MATTER!” For Nathan Thornton, this phrase continues to deliver a powerful message at The House of Manna.
Along with handing out inspirational materials bearing the slogan U MATTER!, the Euharlee 59-year-old is thrilled to provide nourishment and hope to hundreds through Holy Manna Ministries’ weekly food distribution.
“That is our motto,” said Thornton, the nonprofit’s caretaker, about U MATTER!
"We give every person one of these cards, and wear these shirts and we’ve given away lots,” he said, referring to the volunteers’ blue T-shirts with the wording “U MATTER!: Love thy neighbor as thyself.” “But this is our whole thing — U MATTER! We want every person to know that they are loved, that they matter.”
Opened in July, The House of Manna at 2368 Highway 113 in Taylorsville is currently serving up to 300 carloads with boxes of food each Thursday afternoon.
In all, the nonprofit is assisting 5,000 families every week, which includes area churches picking up boxes and distributing off-site. Relying on private companies’ contributions for donations, Holy Manna Ministries also has obtained food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While situated in four vehicle lanes, recipients receive items ranging from fresh produce and milk to hamburger meat and — if desired — speak with pastors and fill out prayer cards. Those served vary in levels of need and places of residence, with many hailing outside of Bartow County.
“There was this family, and they came here one Saturday,” Thornton said, noting they visited in August or September. “They said, ‘Look, we’ve been getting food out of dumpsters.” They had kids in the car, and we adopted that family. We loaded them up with food and got them other supplies that they needed.
“The mother and one of the children later received Christ, and they’re part of this ministry [now],” he said, referring to the family still receiving food and attending a weekly Bible study at The House of Manna. “Their lives have changed a lot.”
Previously a millionaire, a business owner and successful Realtor, Thornton changed professional courses after receiving a vision in 2018. He woke from sleeping with the word “manna,” which Scripture refers to as bread from heaven, on the forefront of his mind. This experience led him to research the subject and form two operations — Holy Manna Ministries and Holy Manna LLC — in January 2020.
“I don’t have any money,” said Thornton, who shares two young children with his wife, Anabel. “When I quit my job, I said ‘Dad, I have to do this.’ Then he saw how busy I got. We had this conversation, ‘You’re going to have to feed your family.’
“I was wrestling with that humanity to give up my job. Now he says, ‘Nathan, you could have stayed at your job and fed your family or you could have followed God and you’re feeding thousands.’ And that’s the way it is.”
Describing Thornton as having a “true servant’s heart,” Bartow Baptist Association’s associational missionary, David Franklin, is impressed with his friend’s passion to help others.
“Nathan is a great guy with a huge heart to help struggling people with the basic needs of food,” he said. “He wants to touch people when and where they are hurting. He also has a heart to help the Body of Christ work together to meet human needs.
“If you are hungry, your whole focus is on meeting that need — where is my next meal coming from? How do I feed my children? How am I going to survive? If people have some of their basic needs met, then they can focus on other issues, like finding work, etc.”
Intending for the for-profit arm of his operations to fund Holy Manna Ministries, Thornton was surprised to see the nonprofit kick off first due to COVID-19. Prior to securing a brick and mortar location, Holy Manna Ministries received $2 billion worth of food and $100 million worth of milk to disperse, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through the USDA’s assistance, the nonprofit reached out to churches throughout Georgia and supplied boxes of food to 10,000 families per week.
Currently leasing the building for a discounted rate, Thornton operated the nonprofit from its facility rent free for the first year, courtesy of the T&M Food Store owner.
“Nathan and I have worked together this year to connect food with churches and people,” Franklin said in late 2020. “He has worked tirelessly to connect people to food. In the Government Pandemic Stimulus package, a program was launched entitled Farm to Table. Boxes of food — either 20- or 40-pound boxes — were given to local communities through churches and ministries.
“Nathan has been a key point person in Bartow and beyond in getting a lot of food from all over. Sometimes it was very frustrating as the system kept changing, but Nathan never complained. He just kept plugging away and making adjustments.”
Grateful for the community’s assistance, Thornton shared area church members and ministers volunteer their services on Thursday afternoons, and other pastors pick up food to distribute at their places of worship.
“I met Nathan Thornton through David Franklin early this year about seven months ago while he and David was working on a program to incorporate the local churches in their feeding programs,” said Michael Teasley, senior pastor of Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Cartersville. “I would describe Nathan's passion for Holy Manna and feeding those in need to the love of Christ and how He gave His life for us.
“… I know that's a big statement so let me explain myself. He gives everything he has to trying to bless the people of God no matter what they look like.”
Teaming up with Holy Manna to feed those in need, Teasley and his congregation have served as many as 465 families each month at Pleasant Grove.
“One Sunday, we served 280 families,” Teasley said. “I remember the people were coming so fast that we ran out of food.
“I called Nathan and told him the situation and he said ‘come on out we have plenty’ and we went out picked what we needed. The people were in tears because they didn't know how they [were] going to make it.”
Through its association with Holy Manna Ministries, Pleasant Grove served 2,500 families in 2020.
“I can honestly say if it were not for Nathan and his ministry, a lot of people in Bartow County would not be eating because they just don't have it,” Teasley said. “Nathan has a saying that he says when you ask him ‘how does he do it.’ His response is the Lord says, ‘He would provide manna from heaven for today’ and that will be enough he says. Don't worry about tomorrow, it will take care of itself. And that helps my staff at Pleasant Grove in how we serve people during these times.”
Like Teasley, Franklin also has seen firsthand the important work Holy Manna is conducting. Along with seeing the “excitement and energy of the people at Cartersville First Baptist Church as they gave out 1,400 40-pound boxes of food to people,” he also enjoyed delivering some boxes personally to those he felt needed extra nourishment.
“I pulled up in front of a residence and told the man I was his neighbor as it was near my house,” Franklin said. “I explained I had food for them. His response was ‘that is great. So you saw my Facebook post.’
“‘No,’ I replied. He said, ‘Well my refrigerator went out last night and we lost all our food. So I put it on Facebook that we needed some help.’ ‘Well I did not see it, but God did,’ I said.”
Looking forward, Thornton aims to grow Holy Manna LLC this year. Along with offering products for sale, he also hopes to sell coffee and sandwiches at The House of Manna.
“With Holy Manna, it’s got two sides to it. What God told me is No. 1, Nathan don’t go to the world with your hand out. You’re a tentmaker,” Thornton said. “And No. 2, feed my people my way before man stepped on it. Feed them nutrition, good food.
“So Holy Manna LLC is a for-profit company. Holy Manna Ministries is a nonprofit company. So the for-profit company, we have nutritional products,” he said, adding proceeds from items —such as Alkaline water machines, grass-fed beef and organic vegetables — will help fund the nonprofit’s operations.
Underscoring the far-reaching impact of Holy Manna Ministries and its U MATTER! message, Thornton recalled a memorable visitor from about two months ago. A woman, who resided near the Georgia-Alabama line, traveled to The House of Manna. Crying, she noted she didn’t need food but wanted to relay a story for her husband — an ambulance driver.
“‘He responded to a call yesterday, and there was a lady and a baby,’” the woman told Thornton. “‘Once the traumatic situation got over with, he said ‘Mam, can I pray with you — do you pray?’
“She said, ‘I used to not, but three weeks ago I went to this little place in Taylorsville, Georgia, and I got this [U Matter!] card.’ She said, ‘My life has changed ever since, so let’s pray.’ He sent his wife all the way back over here to say, ‘Y’all keep doing what you’re doing.’”
For more information about Holy Manna Ministries, visit the nonprofit’s Facebook page.
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