There are an estimated 317,000 Utahns who face hunger on a daily basis. Many families have been affected by inflation, the high costs of housing, or even periods of unemployment. Now residents of Davis County can lend a helping hand in efforts to provide food for those in need.

Feed Utah is the statewide food drive coordinated by the Utah Food Bank and local pantries like the Bountiful Food Pantry. On Saturday, March 16, volunteers from the BFP and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be going door-to-door to pick up food, then bring those donations to various drop-off locations in the county. From there, it will be delivered to the Bountiful pantry.

“Many residents will receive door hangers this week with information about the drive,” said Rebekah Anderson, executive director of the Bountiful Food Pantry. “Residents are asked to place non-perishable food items in the bags that came attached to the fliers, then place them on their front porches by 9 a.m. on the 16th. Our volunteers will then collect those donations.”

In Davis County, the drop-off locations are:

Bountiful: 480 East 150 North (Bountiful Food Pantry)

Farmington: 347 South 200 West (LDS Church)

Centerville: 1125 North 400 West (LDS Church)

Woods Cross: 600 West 2200 South (Woods Cross High School)

“This is our largest food collection event of the year,” Anderson said. “Last year we were able to collect over 157,000 pounds of food, and our goal is to exceed that this year.” 

The BFP has been providing supplemental food to low-income families in Davis County for more than 45 years. Its 7,500 square foot warehouse distributes more than 2 million pounds of food – equivalent to 1.7 million meals – each year.

“Without a charge, we served 17,811 households, representing 64,216 individuals, between our market and mobile pantries in 2023,” she said. “That was an increase of more than 75 percent from the previous year.”

Anderson recently did a segment on our Davis Beat podcast talking about the need for food from the pantry. She praised the work of her more than 250 volunteers who help sort, stock and distribute food each week.

She also pointed out that the pantry can accept food that is past its “best used by” date because most canned food items have a longer shelf life than the dates printed by manufacturers.

“We don’t have a problem getting so-called expired food at the pantry,” she said.

Those who wish to donate for the drive can also bring their food to one of the drop-off locations, or to the pantry. Volunteers will be at the site on the morning of the 16th.

For more information, visit  https://bountifulfoodpantry.org.