Bountiful Food Pantry: fills hearts and stomachs

JamesPalmer

Bountiful Food Pantry is available to make a cash donation, or to volunteer.

She entered the office quietly to pick up her bag of groceries, which are often given to the poor. She began to chat with a non-paid staffer as she realised that she was driving a borrowed car on her way home from a job interview. Craig Cobb, a long-time volunteer, said that it is important to never assume. “There is no single description that you can give to people in need.

Cobb organises the warehouse’s 200,000-pound food pantry. He also doubles as a forklift operator. Cobb is one of the dozen volunteers who supervise hundreds of people who visit the pantry to sort, rotate and rotate food boxes and pallets. Jaynann Johnson, who helps to organise the warehouse’s 200,000 pounds of food, often doubles as a forklift operator.

She said, “Some people just cry.” I give them a hug, and tell them, “Hey, they’re just neighbors helping neighbours.” ”

Frozen meat cuts were rare until last fall. A family of four would receive one pound of ground hamburger, and one package of hot dogs for the month.

Smith’s Marketplace opened in Salt Lake City in November and began giving out fresh and prepared food that was close to expiration dates to Utah Food Bank Service. They then distributed the food to local pantries throughout Utah.

The program is described as miraculous by Dave Karcher, director of operations at Bountiful Pantry. Instead of the grocer throwing away meats, milk, and other perishable items after the “sell by” date has passed, the food is donated to the hungry.

He said that the program required a lot of work and effort to overcome liability issues. It took equipment like freezers and refrigerated truck, as well food handlers licenses to transport the food from the supermarkets into the abundant bountiful food pantry. For example, meats are frozen immediately, then p icked up by refrigerated trucks, and placed in freezers to keep them at a constant temperature. A roast beef dinner, fish, or chicken can now be enjoyed by families in need. Pantries now have the ability to use money donated by donors to buy other necessities, such as fresh milk. This is in addition to meat.