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SALT LAKE CITY — For years, when Travis Brimhall wasn't incarcerated, he rarely knew where his next meal would come from. Strung out on drugs most of the time, he "kinda lost my life as I knew it."
Addicted at 18, over a 22-year period he spent a total of 17 years behind bars and much of the remainder on the streets. But most recently, he was finally able to get on the right path thanks to help from people at the Salt Lake City Mission.
One of the most important of the many ways he was helped was with regular meals that helped nourish not only his body, but his soul as well.
"It was great!" Brimhall, 40, said. "You don't get (nutritious food) as a homeless person or other (recovery) programs either. This is actually real good food."
Brimhall was one of thousands of people who have benefitted from monthly food donations made to the faith-based Salt Lake City Mission through HMSHost — a food-service company that operates at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Every month, about 1,000 pounds of food items are donated by HMSHost to the mission. The items include parfaits, fruit cups and packaged to-go sandwiches.
In 2015, HMSHost donated approximately 1.6 million pounds of food to community food banks across the country, according to John Moore, director of operations for HMSHost, which operates in over 70 airports nationwide as well as highway and tollway rest stops throughout the country.
The effort is part of the company's sustainability initiative called Startsomewhere, in conjunction with initiatives such as the airport’s commitment to environmental sustainability, Moore said.
The Startsomewhere program is aimed at ensuring sustainable practices are a part of all HMSHost's operations in airport and motorway restaurants and office spaces across the nation, according to the company website. The program targets three broad initiatives, including the environment, nutrition and wellness, along with community partnerships.
Moore said the food is collected daily and picked up by the mission three times a week.
"Our ready-to-eat food is only sold for 24 hours, so at the end of the night what we don't sell goes to a central collection area where it is stored in our commissary building for the mission to come and pick up," he explained. "They are getting good food. It is still a good, quality nutritional product."
Donating the unsold items, he said, avoids wasting perfectly edible food and benefits people who truly need and appreciate it.
"We've been feeding close to 52,000 individuals last year," said Brad Jaques, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Mission. "It's a huge number of people being impacted. We wouldn't be able to do it without the help of HMS."
He said being able to offer such high quality food helps make a big difference in the lives of people who are in dire straits — something Brimhall said he could identify with firsthand.
While struggling to overcome his battle with drugs all those years, he said having access to well-balanced meals was a major contributor to his being able regain his life and his dignity.
"It's good to have good, healthy food. It's good to know that I'm worth a good meal," Brimhall said. "If you have a full stomach and feel healthy, the day is all that much better."
