Community Food Basket to receive church donation
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will send a 42,000 pound shipment of food to the Community Food Basket of Idaho Falls.
The supplies come from the Bishop's Storehouse in Salt Lake City.
Food Basket manager Dave Manson said the shipment could not have come at a more critical time. It is expected to arrive sometime Tuesday, April 7.
The 24-pallet donation includes 23 different items, ranging from beef stew to green beans and flour to chocolate pudding.
The Community Food Basket distributed nearly 1.5 million pounds of food last year, serving nearly 4,000 families each month, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Manson said the Food Basket has already seen a 20% increase in the number of families seeking assistance.
"With local small businesses and other employers having to reduce hours or lay off employees, we anticipate that number to rise in April, and do not have a clear idea of exactly how long this crisis will last," said Manson. "Given that, this extremely generous donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a timely blessing. Without it, our limited resources would have been stretched to the breaking point by this rising need."
Doug Nelson, director of The Greater Idaho Falls Communications Council of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints said they are just one part of the effort to meet this need.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appreciates The Food Basket and the work they, and other community partners, do to organize and disseminate critical supplies to those in greatest need," Nelson said. "The Church appreciates the diversity of the many organizations and people who join together to provide assistance in times of emergency."
