In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is donating 250 semi trucks worth of food to pantries across the country. On April 24, the Bountiful Food Pantry was one of those recipients.

The huge semi truck branded with the logo of JustServe arrived shortly before 8 a.m., with six pallets of food for the pantry to distribute to Utahns in need. Pantry Executive Director Rebekah Anderson said the pallets included powdered milk, mac n cheese, pasta, salsa, beef stew and applesauce, a total of 7,672 pounds of food. That same day, JustServe donated food to pantries in Layton and Logan as well.

“I grew up here in Bountiful and I remember my family gathering food to donate to the pantry,” said Kevin Eubank, chief meteorologist for KSL-TV and a local church leader who emceed a short program in the pantry warehouse. “I have great memories of the pantry and know how much good it does for those in need in our community. It’s great to see this effort today by local church leaders, law enforcement, and volunteers making this possible.”

“The pantry is an amazing facility for us to help some of the most vulnerable in our community with the resources they need,” said Bountiful Chief of Police Ed Biehler. “Our department works in conjunction with the city to do various projects year round, and our police association enjoys making donations to the pantry from some of the fundraisers we do each year. It’s a pleasure to help keep this place supplied to help others.”

Rev. Shannon Burke from the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Centerville praised the efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its food donation program.

“In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, ‘I was hungry and you gave me food,’” she said. “When those who are hungry come to a place like this, we respond the way Christ would. Our mandate as Christians calls us to the margins of society to serve. We care for the least, the lost and the last. Today, we are living out that call by saying yes to those in the margins by providing this generous food delivery.”

“Last year, we fed over 100,000 people,” Anderson said. “We gave out the equivalent of 2.3 million meals. There’s no way to do that without the support of the community, and we have the support of so many small businesses and other organizations like the Rotary and Lions Club, plus lots of local churches. Most of the people we help only need it for a short time, but we’re here for them. We’re so grateful to the LDS Church and other churches in the community, and I promise we’ll put this food to good use.”

Elder Scott L. Hymas, an Area Seventy from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated that more than 484,000 people in Utah face food insecurity, praising the Bountiful Food Pantry for serving more than 20 percent of them. 

“This is really the scriptures in action, loving our fellow man, providing for those who are less fortunate,” he said. “We have a responsibility to those who are in need, and what a blessing to see what can happen in America.”

JustServe is a community service platform sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that connects volunteers with local service opportunities. The 250 deliveries of this year’s project will provide approximately 10 million meals to families in need across the country as part of the America Gives initiative.