Food distribution reaches

many Sanpete families

By Robert Green

Staff writer

2-17-2021

About 1250 boxes of fresh food were handed out to residents throughout Sanpete County last Tuesday.

Volunteers from the LDS Church and other humanitarian councils showed up to accept the pallets of food and distribute the 30 pound food boxes to Sanpete County residents in need, said Mark Olson, Manti Stake President.

The food boxes were delivered to places all over the Sanpete Valley and they were gone within a few hours, Olson said. The boxes were filled with meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese and milk, he said.

The project is part of the United State Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “Farmers to Families” food box program.

The USDA brings in the pallets of food; and community leaders from all over the county show up to distribute it to needy people in their cities and towns, Olson said.

The “Farmers to Families” program helps out the farmers and it also helps those who need nutrition and sustenance, Olson said. The program evolved as a response to COVID economic stress and some funding comes from the CARES Act, he said.

The project originally started as a joint effort between the LDS Church and USDA to provide food to thousands of Native Americans during the new coronavirus pandemic, Olson said. It has now branched out to serve people nationwide.

Sanpete County has received two truckloads of food in the last month. There is a local focus to make sure the Spanish and Samoan populations have access to the food boxes, Olson said.

The Sanpete County Humanitarian Council and Interfaith Council are also involved in distributing the food, Olson said.