Throughout the year, Rick Mantei and his team host flying events throughout South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, giving one-of-a-kind experiences flying in Mantei’s 1941 Stearman biplane. In recent years Mantei has found it to be another opportunity to give back to charities and nonprofits for all of their hard work and sacrifice. So, in Peachtree City, Georgia, this year,*can we say the exact date, or month? November? We extended an invitation to the volunteers and affiliates of Midwest Food Bank. In addition, Mantei personally made a donation of $5,000 to the nonprofit to help further its efforts. 

Midwest Food Bank is a faith-based organization working to alleviate hunger locally and throughout the world and provide disaster relief. It distributes over $32 million worth of food to over 2,000 nonprofit organizations each month through its locations across eight states, East Africa and Haiti. 

In addition, it is a first responder to the Salvation Army, able to send family food boxes on the road to a disaster site within 24 hours of a request. Each of these boxes has enough food to feed a family of four for four to five days. The Georgia division of the organization opened its doors in 2011 and since has grown to serve 260 agency partners located in over 56 counties in six states. 

To thank these incredibly hardworking individuals, Mantei gave them a once-in-a-lifetime experience flying over the beautiful Peachtree City area in his WWII biplane. Despite the more than chilly weather conditions that day, no one stepped off the wing after their flight without a wide grin on their faces. Both Executive Director Pat Burke and Operations Director Gail Frantz expressed their gratitude to their volunteers and Mantei. “Midwest Food Bank was very grateful for the opportunity to bless our volunteers with the wonderful experience of the special flights,” Frantz said.
To learn more about Midwest Food Bank and ways to get involved, go to https://www.midwestfoodbank.org/ and click on Donate or Volunteer.