Latest news with #FeedUtah
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Financial donations increased in this year's Feed Utah Food Drive
The annual Feed Utah Food Drive took place earlier this month and, following a trend from the last couple years, the food drive saw a significant increase in financial donations compared to last year. But that's a good thing, because the demand and need for help for those in need is on the rise as well. The food drive, conducted March 15 through the Utah Food Bank, included donations from all 29 counties in Utah. 'The great thing about a food drive like feed Utah is it gives everyone in the state an opportunity to participate in the fight against hunger,' said Utah Food Bank President and CEO Ginnette Bott. The Food Bank has not received totals for donations from all across the state yet, but Bott said that from the numbers she has seen so far there was a small increase in food donations from last year. Bott said another trend of fewer physical food donations and more monetary donations continued again in 2025. According to Bott, there was a huge increase in the number of financial donations this year, which she said is helpful because it allows the food bank to buy extra product if needed and pay for delivering the food. The need for food for those struggling from hunger is alarmingly high right now, Bott added. 'There are areas of our state that are really seeing an increased number of people coming to the pantries, and the numbers are higher in some of the areas, even higher than they were in COVID and some other areas, they're coming down. So, to say that it's evened out, isn't really true,' she added. This year marked the fourth annual Feed Utah Food Drive. For 33 years, the food bank did an annual food drive in partnership with the Boy Scouts of America. But after that organization changed, the food bank had to change its approach. 'What we try to reinforce is that Feed Utah is a concentrated effort on one day for all of us to come together for all of our 29 counties,' Bott said. During the drive, thousands of volunteers across the state drove around neighborhoods to pick up bags of food people had left on their porch. Utahns could also drop off their donations at fixed locations. Bott said the food drive serves multiple purposes, one being to spread awareness. 'I always say education and awareness are two most powerful tools. People need to see us doing something, and we need to be educating them about the problem of hunger, and this kind of a food drive allows us to do that,' Bott added. Another benefit of the food drive is it adds more variety to the type of food available to those in need. She said the food drive requires months of planning, which includes coordinating drop-off points and trucks to deliver donated food as well as gathering volunteers. 'The day goes quickly and it's a successful day, but it certainly takes a lot of preparation to be ready for that day,' Bott said. The Utah Food Bank is the state's partner with Feeding America, which has over 200 food banks across the country. The food bank covers the entirety of Utah, serving people in all 29 counties and working with around 275 partner agencies. 'So think of us as the wholesaler,' Bott said. 'The food and the product comes to us, we distribute it to the pantry, the pantry then distributes it to the end user.' Bott added that it is all done free of charge,. The pantries don't pay for the food from the food bank and those who receive the food don't pay the pantries.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. Cox makes first donation of the Feed Utah food drive
On Saturday, March 15, Utah residents around the state are encouraged to fill a bag of food and set it on their porch for the fourth annual Feed Utah food drive. A kickoff event for the statewide food drive was held on Wednesday at the Utah Food Bank. The event featured a few speakers, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The Feed Utah food drive is being put on by the Utah Food Bank in partnership with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Associated Food Stores and the governor's office. As a part of the kickoff event, the governor presented the first ceremonial donation to the food drive. Before making his donation, Cox read an official proclamation declaring March 15, 2025, as Feed Utah Day. 'No child should have to go to bed hungry, no parent should have to send a child to school hungry, no family should have to choose between a roof over their head or food on their table, and no elderly person's health should be compromised by a lack of access to adequate nutritious food,' Cox said. He added that Utah leads the nation in statistics around generosity, and he hopes that this year won't be an exception, and that people will step up for this food drive. 'We're fortunate to live in a state where we care deeply about our communities, we care deeply about our neighbors and giving back,' Cox said. 'Please, please, please, just fill a bag of food and set it on your porch this Saturday.' There are about 415,000 Utahns who suffer from food insecurity, according to Kent Liston, chief financial officer of Utah Food Bank. That means that 1 in 6 children and 1 in 8 adults don't know where their next meal will come from. 'We hope that we keep the shelves stocked, that we have enough food to help get us through the rest of the year for those who are in need all across the state, and eventually, we hope again that this helps people to get back on their feet,' Cox said. Liston said that typically the food bank sources food by the truckload, which means that there isn't a ton of variety in the food they have available. The Feed Utah event helps give more variety to the food they can provide to those in need. 'You could have thousands and thousands of different product types, different product brands, and that helps us both in terms of supplementing nutrition, but also variety,' Liston said. 'So we invite all our friends, all faiths, all civic society, of all communities, to please participate as volunteers and be generous givers of your funds as well as your food,' said Elder Hugo Martinez, a member of the Utah Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Utahns are being asked to fill up their own grocery bags with nonperishable food items from their pantry. The bags need to be placed on their porch by 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 15. 'A lot of the items that are a priority would be things like peanut butter, canned meats, stews, vegetables, canned items like that,' Liston said. 'But also, we also want what people have, and what people eat, and so Top Ramen, you know, mac and cheese, those types of things are welcomed as well.' Volunteers around the state will come by and pick up the food that people set out, and will take the food to collection centers. The donations will then be distributed to food pantries and people in need across Utah. Jonathan Badger, owner of Lee's Marketplace, also spoke at the event and shared that people will be able to bring donations to grocery stores across the state from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. All of Utah's Lee's Marketplace, Macey's Grocery and Lin's locations across the state will be taking both food and financial donations during this time. Donations can also be made online. 'Food is not just a nice thing to have, it's actually a necessity that we all need,' Badger said.
