LOGAN – Cache Community Food Pantry is gearing up for one of their biggest annual food drives effecting every part of Cache Valley. Hundreds of young people will be collecting food for the annual Feed Utah food drive to be held on Saturday, March 15 at 9 a.m.
Participants can place a bag with their donations on their porch or take their donations to one of the closest pick-up sites.
Matt Whitaker, the director of the facility, is trying to find food for approximately 950 people they serve.
Donated food should be commercially packaged (non-glass), non-perishable and nutritious (ideally low-sodium and low-sugar items). Most-needed food items include beef stew, chili, peanut butter, boxed meals, canned meats and canned fruits and vegetables.
This year’s donations will help provide food for hundreds of families in the valley and across the state. One in nine Utah children are unsure where their next meal will come from.
Whitaker said the local pantry serves about 950 people in Cache Valley a month out of their Main Street location.
“This is one of the biggest food drives for us every year,” he said. “And it is a good thing because we are seeing more and more families dependent on us for food; we have more middle-class families that need help.”
The food pantry is helping more middle class residents because rent and food prices are going up while salaries have not, Whitaker said.
The Cache Community Food Pantry not only helps families, but they also have about 25 other organizations that depend on them. Organizations such as CAPSA, the Senior Center, Cache Employment and Training Center and others use food from the pantry. They also help Franklin and Rich counties’ food pantries.
Whitaker wanted to thank everyone in advance for their donations and help.
“We need the donations to serve our people,” he said. “This is the most important part of helping those families that need it.”
The pantry has reduced the number of drop off locations this year, said Jake Netzley, who works at the local pantry.
“For the food drive this Saturday there will only be five drop sites across the whole valley,” he said. “Those sites will be Macey’s (Providence), here at the Food Pantry, Lee’s in Logan, Lee’s in Smithfield, and Lee’s in Richmond.”
He recommended that people bringing food to the different collection sites combine everything into as few vehicles as possible before they then taking it to the nearest drop site.
“The door hangers that were delivered have two QR codes. The one printed on the flyer goes to the Utah Food Bank,” he said. “The code on the white card that is attached to the flyer goes directly the Cache Community Food Bank. We fielded a lot of questions last year about where the money goes. If people want to donate locally, they will need to use the QR code on the attached card.”
This food drive is the result of a partnership between Utah Food Bank and its partner agencies, Macey’s Grocery, JustServe and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.