Throughout the year, Rick Mantei and his team host flying events throughout South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, giving one-of-a-kind experiences aloft in Mantei’s 1941 Stearman biplane. In recent years Mantei has found that they are another opportunity to give back to charities and nonprofits for all of their hard work and sacrifice..
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves over 200,000 food-insecure individuals per year through its relationship with almost 300 community partners. The nonprofit’s staff works tirelessly to distribute food across the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina, and provides its partners with fresh produce, nonperishable foods, equipment, nutrition materials and food-safety training. In 2020, it distributed 39.7million pounds of food, an effort achieved through over 42,000 volunteer hours.

To thank these incredibly hardworking individuals, Mantei gave them a once-in-a-lifetime experience flying over the beautiful Charleston area in his WWII biplane, and gifted them a miniature, hand-carved model of the plane to commemorate the wonderful time they had. The model is displayed on a shelf in Lowcountry’s local office, along with pictures of the volunteers beaming from their seats in the cockpit. Since learning about the organization, Mantei has begun a regular donation that he plans to continue.

For more information about Lowcountry Food bank and how you can get involved, visit https://lowcountryfoodbank.org/.