Rita’s Italian Ice to host fundraiser for Manna on Main Street
Whether you choose one of the brand new water ice flavors — like Birch Beer, Twizzlers or Hawaiian Punch — or stick with a classic like cherry or lemon, your Rita’s Italian Ice of Lansdale purchase on Tuesday, July 25, between 6 and 9 p.m. will go a long way in helping Manna on Main Street feed families in the North Penn area and beyond who might otherwise go hungry.
The Rita’s location at 214 S. Broad St., Lansdale, is joining in the annual Florence Nightingale Challenge by donating 20 percent of all sales on Tuesday during the designated hours to the Manna on Main Street food pantry, noted owner Beth DiFrangia.
“This is our second year in the Florence Nightingale Challenge,” noted DiFrangia, who owns the business with her husband, Roger DiFrangia.
“Customers don’t need to mention the Challenge or show a flyer or anything like that. We just automatically donate 20 percent,” said DiFrangia, adding, “We rely on Manna to get the word out about the fundraiser, and we post it on our Facebook and Twitter.” Everything on the menu of Rita’s frozen concoctions — which, as of this week, can now be enjoyed al fresco style at one of three outdoor tables — is eligible for a donation, including the new Stuffed Blendini, a mix of frozen custard, Italian ice and toppings whirled with a core waiting to be filled with strawberry, caramel or fudge.
“When the Blendini is blended, the spindle creates a hole in the middle that can be stuffed, and it’s been pretty popular this summer,” explained DiFrangia, who added that the most popular treat of all is the gelati, with its frozen custard foundation topped with ice and more custard as the top layer.
The most ordered combination is mango Italian ice — also the most popular water ice flavor on its own — and vanilla custard, said DiFrangia, who admitted she harbors a special fondness for the lemon ice.
This year’s sugar free water ice flavors are tangerine, dragon fruit and mango peach.
An all-natural Italian ice was introduced in 2016 that contains no artificial colors or flavors and no high fructose corn syrup, DiFrangia noted.
“It only comes in a few flavors … pineapple, strawberry, banana and orange,” she said.
The Lansdale Rita’s franchise was established in 1994 and came under the couple’s ownership in 2014, as did a location on Horsham Road in Montgomeryville, DiFrangia noted.
“My husband had worked in corporate sales for a long time and was ready to do something different. It’s nice to be our own boss and make decisions for ourselves,” she said. “We hire a lot of local kids who come back when they’re home from college to work here and it’s fun to be around them.”
The year-long Florence Nightingale Challenge is one of Manna on Main Street’s biggest fundraisers of the year, raising thousands of dollars via dozens of local businesses that pledge their fundraising help.
In addition to a soup kitchen that operates seven days a week and is open to anyone, the pantry portion of the charity, which is stocked with everything from the stars of the nonperishable world like canned soup and tuna, to packages of cookies and other snacks, to fresh produce and dairy, serves more than 1,000 qualified households.
In a single day, Manna, which got off to a humble start at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Lansdale in 1981, serves hundreds of meals in its soup kitchen and thousands more through its food pantry.
“We need 100 volunteers to deliver our services and we have a very dedicated group of volunteers who donate their time every day, and others once or twice a week or more,” Paige Harker, Manna’s development officer, had noted. “It’s an amazing community of caring people. Without a committed staff and the support of our community, which is comprised of businesses and very generous individuals, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”
When Manna moved to its new location at 606 E. Main St. last September, hundreds of volunteers had formed a human chain to help with the transition.
Rita’s of Lansdale was there as well, offering frozen treats to the volunteers.
“We will also periodically drop off quarts and gallons of water ice so the people going to Manna for a meal can have a treat,” DiFrangia said.