Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BOUNTIFUL — The Bountiful Community Pantry has become a lifeline for many families in the area, serving more than double the number of families this year compared to last. As Thanksgiving approaches, the pantry is asking for the community's support to help with turkey and other food donations.
"One of the reasons that that's a focus for us is we know that a lot of the people we feed are going through a financial crisis," said Rebekah Anderson, executive director of the pantry. "They have enough stress and worry in their lives so having something like a really standard, traditional Thanksgiving dinner helps give people a sense of normalcy."
The pantry is hoping to collect 1,300 turkeys to feed their families along with Thanksgiving sides. As of Monday morning, they had only collected 500.
"We also try to share the extra turkeys with people in our community. So, we have schools that have a really high need, we give turkeys to them. We share turkeys with Head Start. We share turkeys with other pantries in our community," Anderson said.
It's not just turkeys and the extra fixings they're in need of. Anderson said the need for food and items of all kinds is just as great, pointing out several empty spaces in the pantry's warehouse.
Families need help
More and more families are relying on the food pantry's support. Last September, they were serving about 800 families. This September, they averaged about 1,700 families.
"It's not uncommon for pantries to be feeding double the number they were last year," Anderson said, adding that the people the pantry feeds are not necessarily the people others may think they're feeding.
"A lot of people think we're feeding people who are destitute (or) they're living in their cars. That's not necessarily the case. A lot of the people we're feeding are actually working. They just can't make ends meet," she said.
That is why Anderson says the need is even greater this Thanksgiving.
"Being able to have a really standard Thanksgiving meal is really important to us," she said.
The food pantry is located at 480 E. 150 North in Bountiful. Donation hours run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Monetary donations are also encouraged. For more information on how to contribute, click here.
