Local church meetinghouse donated to Community Food Basket as new headquarters
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday the donation of a building located at 351 W. 14th Street in Idaho Falls to the Community Food Basket Idaho Falls.
The building was previously used as a Church meeting house for local congregations and administrative office for the Idaho, Idaho Falls Mission. The 17,389 square foot building was constructed in 1950 with donated funds and labor provided by local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Community Food Basket intends to use the building as its new location for food distribution, self-reliance education and other charitable purposes.
“The need continues to grow at unprecedented rates challenging our ability to safely distribute food to those in greatest need. We are deeply appreciative for this remarkable gesture from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we are grateful to the members of the local First Presbyterian Church who, for many years, have generously provided space for our current location," Community Food Basket director Ariel Jackson said.
The new facility will open following completion of work needed to transition the building from a meeting house to its new purposes.
Last year, the food basket distributed the equivalent of 1,738,105 meals, serving 1,043 families monthly. It is expected the larger facility will permit services to be provided more efficiently and with greater safety in a welcoming indoor venue.
“We are grateful to the Food Basket for its many years of dedicated service helping individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and for the opportunity to re-purpose this building in such a meaningful way," local Area Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Elder Fernando R. Castro said.
