LDS Church donates 40,000 pounds of food to local food pantry
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REXBURG — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided 40,000 pounds of food for the Second Helpings Food Bank at the Family Crisis Center in Rexburg Thursday morning.
Staff and volunteers were on-hand to unload the truck as it arrived to deliver the items, which included canned goods, oats, flour, hot chocolate, beans and other items.
Volunteer and shelter services coordinator Marie Harris tells EastIdahoNews.com about 250 families a week will benefit from this shipment and they’re appreciative of the church’s generous donation.
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“We are so grateful the church has donated this food because it will impact so many families in our community. It’s so generous and needed at this time, and we’re grateful that they saw the need and addressed that for us,” Harris says.
The church made a similar donation to the crisis center in October. Most of it is gone now, due to the high demand in the community. Harris wasn’t sure if the church would be able to make another donation, but when she reached out, they made it happen.
It came directly from the church’s distribution center in Salt Lake City.
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The food pantry is supplied weekly by Broulim’s, Walmart and Albertsons. It also orders items from the Idaho Food bank in Pocatello. Recent food shortages have made it harder to get donations, so that’s another reason Harris is so appreciative of Thursday’s shipment.
“We just weren’t receiving as much food and then we had a sharp increase of participants coming to (get) food, so this donation is exactly what we need to continue providing … to those who are food insecure in our community,” Harris explains.
Though there have been ebbs and flows in the number of people benefitting from the food pantry over the years, Harris says she’s an increase in the last 10 years from 60 families a week to about 300 families a week.
She cites increases in cost of living as one reason for that.
“A while back when eggs and milk were costing so much more, it was impacting families in Madison County,” she says.
The state uses the ALICE program (Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed) to keep track of which areas have the highest population of poor working families. Madison County has the second highest percentage of ALICE families in the state, Harris says. Sixty-two percent of those families are college students.
Many of them do not qualify for food stamps, and if a financial emergency arises, Harris says they often have to choose between putting food on the table or taking care of other needs.
The Rexburg food pantry is working with other food banks and area leaders to address the increasing need for this service. Local families who are in need can click here to find a food pantry close to them.
Donations and volunteers are welcome as well. To learn more, click here.
