CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Kenny York, founder and director of Manna Café Ministries, died this morning at age 60 after a battle with cancer.

His death was announced this afternoon by Manna Cafe. Arrangements for his funeral have not yet been announced.

York started Manna Café 12 years ago, and it quickly became a beloved and heavily relied-upon ministry for the homeless in Clarksville.

The work of his ministry will continue. “We have been very intentional and prayerful in assembling a compassionate board of directors and the team of amazing people that run the day to day operations of Manna Cafe Ministries,” said York’s wife and co-CEO, Vicki. “It’s truly more than a job, for our Manna family it’s a calling to serve.”

Making Manna

York’s work with the homeless began in 2004, when he was a missionary in Nashville overseeing a weekly meal for the homeless and poor, according to the Manna Café website.

In 2007, he scrawled the plan for Manna in a notebook. One year later, he took the first steps toward launching Manna Café by taking donated bread and sweets, and later hot meals, into a local homeless camp.

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Manna Café served their first meal during the flood of May 2010. From its colorful roving food trucks to its large facility on Providence Boulevard, the organization grew to give away over 3 million pounds of food a year.

“We went from one meal a week, now we serve eight, so the growth has been phenomenal and it’s just what God has done with us and what the future looks like,” York said in May 2021.

Life on the streets

In 2014 and 2020, York made a public splash by living on the streets himself with his “Prove It” campaign, challenging people to have compassion for the homeless.

He said in 2020 it’s no secret that he was once homeless himself. “That first night out there, you’re lying there in your car or on your pallet thinking ‘God, what did I do wrong, are you mad at me?’” York said.

He spent several days during his Prove It campaigns re-living that homeless experience.

“The homeless in our community are like a faceless population. We walk right by them and don’t see them or pretend they’re not there,” York said. “This is me standing in the gap. We need to make a change. For those who are saying maybe they care, this is me saying prove it.”

York met his wife, Vicki, while working in the ministry in Nashville, and they married in 2008.

When asked about what made her most proud about her husband, Vicki York said, “Kenny’s obedience to God’s call, constant faithfulness to His guidance and a clear view of the big picture. It was never about Kenny in his mind. It is always about serving others with compassion and making Clarksville a better community.”

The Manna Café Ministries legacy

Today, Manna has grown well beyond its food pantry origins.

Manna serves hot, nutritious meals four times per week at outdoor locations, according to their website. They also hold large, one-day Mobile Pantry events where they distribute shopping carts full of groceries to 300-plus families. Three days a week, they distribute food boxes to local families, totaling more than 40,000 pounds per month.

Manna also offers a free health clinic every other Thursday; job and life skills training to the community; and a culinary internship via the Manna Caters program.

“The best way we, as an organization, can honor our friend, Kenny, is to take the vision he cast and continue to serve as he would,” said Ken Shipley, chief operations officer of Manna Cafe. “Kenny has provided the blueprint that will carry Manna into new and exciting ways to serve and to attract generations of compassionate people who will offer hope, help, and a hand up to those in need.”

Kenny is survived by his wife, Victoria, sons Dustin York (Jill) and Jacob York, daughter Angela York Morgan (Wesley) and stepson Joshua Hill (Hannah), grandchildren Carter and Kinley York, Zoe, Urijah, Haddassah and Roman Hill. He is also survived by his faithful Annie the Wonder Dog.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to Manna Cafe Ministries at mannacafeministries.com