• Median annual family income in Myra (in 2000) was $7,679, compared with the U.S.
• 100% of the population of Myra lived below the poverty level in 2000.
• Many households have no car, and the closest grocery store or bank is a 30 minute drive away. There is no hospital, library, park, or recreational program for children.

A coal mining company is the only industry in the area, but it brings its workers in from out-of-state, hiring only one or two people from Myra. Almost everyone else is unemployed. Close to 70% of all adults over the age of 25 never finished high school.

Manna from Heaven, a non-profit food pantry and donation center, is Family-to-Family’s partner in Myra. Thirteen years ago, Lois Tackett started Manna from Heaven to help herself recover from the death of her newborn baby daughter. She says helping others has been her salvation. Tackett and her husband now take care of 825 families in Pike and Floyd counties in Kentucky, with donations of food, clothing and furniture, as well as offers of spiritual guidance. Manna from Heaven is now also distributing vegetable seeds to help the people of Myra grow some of their own food.