Feature President & CEO Message — Jim Yorgason This time of year is always interesting for us at Utah Food Bank. While we have just wrapped up several large-scale events, we are headed straight into one of the most difficult times of year for Utahns facing hunger. The good news is that we are doubling our Summer Food Service Program and expanding into Utah County, where access to summer meals has always been extremely limited. This means we get to put the newest addition to our Mobile School Pantry fleet family, Gracie, to the test before school starts. Thanks to O.C. Tanner Company for expanding our fleet, which will help us reach 50 schools starting in the fall. We look forward to this opportunity! HH
Client Corner Just 3 days after Linda* turned 24 years old, the car she was riding in went over a cliff in East Canyon. Now at age 65, she has limited use of her right side and relies on a wheelchair to get around. Linda says the monthly food box being delivered to her home is keeping her alive. She is saving up for a crockpot to help her utilize all of the canned food she receives. According to Linda, “I really believe in these programs — they make such a huge difference. I truly feel that I am the luckiest person alive.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
Did You Know? Summertime means no school, but it can also mean no lunch for 1 in 5 Utah children. It’s not too late for you to help by registering for a Summer Business Food & Fund drive! Visit our website for further details.
Spotlights Board Spotlight — Jeff England Jeff England grew up in Ogden, where he graduated from high school and attended Weber State College. He worked for his father in the family’s trucking business, C.R. England, until 1979 when he left to start Pride Transport, which serves the food industry by transporting food products throughout the United States. Jeff became involved with Utah Food Bank in 2007 when he began donating transportation services and served as a member of both the Development and Operations committees. In January of 2015, Jeff became an official member of our Board of Directors, then took the role of Operations Committee Chair in July of that year. In his spare time, Jeff loves spending time his wife, six children and 16 grandchildren.
Volunteer Spotlight — Open Hearts Helping Hands Awardees In April, we hosted our annual Open Hearts Helping Hands luncheon at our warehouse to honor our incredible volunteers. Please join us in recognizing this year’s award winners: Group of the Year: Les Olson Company School Group of the Year: Skyline High School Board Member of the Year: Tracy Christman Corporate Group of the Year: Wheeler Machinery Co. Individual Volunteers of the Year: Ed Connell & Dan Morgan Our volunteers are truly the heart of our organization. We appreciate each and every hour of time donated to us, which amounted to over 85,000 hours last year. Utah Food Bank would not be able to accomplish all that we do without our tremendously dedicated volunteers!
Recent Events Night at the Warehouse Gala — May 7 What an incredible evening we had with our supporters at the 7th annual Night at the Warehouse gala. Special thanks to the presenting sponsor, Chevron, whose support made it possible to create such a remarkable event! This year’s theme, Faces of Hunger, struck a chord with attendees, who were treated to a wonderful dinner, silent and live auctions, an Iron Chef-style competition and video presentations. Congratulations to Chef Franco Aloia for his winning dishes that wowed the judges once again. Emcees Mary Nickles and Ron Bird of KUTV really helped capture the excitement of the evening, which also included the presentation of a new Mobile School Pantry truck, thanks to O.C. Tanner Company. A very special live appeal for increased Mobile School Pantry funding means that we may just hit our goal of 50 sites for next school year. Thank you to everyone who joined us, donated items for the auctions and volunteered their time to ensure a successful gala!
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive — May 14 The 24th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive was a resounding success throughout the state! Each year, this nationwide food drive is made possible by the National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and U.S. Postal Service, who all mobilize to collect food in support of Utah Food Bank and our partner agencies. The bags and postcards that most residents received served as great reminders to support the effort, and watching load after load of food roll in on the day of the food drive was so exciting! This food drive comes at a time each year when we, and our partner agencies, struggle to stock pantry shelves. Preliminary reports show that in our Salt Lake and St. George warehouses alone, we collected enough food to provide over 242,000 meals. We are eager to watch the final reports roll in from our partner agencies across the state!
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Save the Date Visit utahfoodbank.org/events for complete details!
Summer Business Food & Fund Drive — June 1–August 31 Our annual Summer Business Food & Fund Drive comes at a crucial time of need when kids are out of school without access to school meals, which adds to the financial strain on struggling families. Sadly, it’s also a time when donations are at their lowest. There is still plenty of time to rally your business to help us feed the need during this critical time by organizing food and fund drives, whether virtual or traditional. Thanks to returning sponsor Les Olson Company for helping to make this all possible!
Driving Out Hunger — August 22 Step up to the tee to fill a plate at Utah Food Bank’s 5th annual Driving Out Hunger golf tournament, directly benefiting our mission. We only have room for 128 golfers, so put together a foursome today — spots are filling up fast and may sell out! This fun scramble-format tournament is held at the exclusive Salt Lake Country Club, and entrance fees include a continental breakfast and an awards ceremony luncheon. Special thanks to first-time Champion Sponsor, Grandeur Peak Funds, for joining this effort!
H.A.M. It Up Against Hunger Race — September 10 Southern Utah has some of the highest food insecurity rates in the state, and our Southern Distribution Center is a key component in helping us reach those who need it most in the region. We are eagerly looking forward to our second annual event in St. George to help engage Southern Utah residents in the fight against hunger. This family-friendly 5K will once again start and finish at our Southern Distribution Center, and we hope to see some spectacular costumes again this year! Thanks to the presenting sponsor, Cambia Health Solutions, for helping engage this important audience.
Our mission of Fighting Hunger Statewide is only possible because of the devoted time, talent, energy and resources that the community provides. Without you, we could not help those who need it most. Here’s how you can help: Give Food. Everyone in Utah needs to eat. When you donate food, you help make sure that everyone can. Locate a food pantry to drop off items or use Utah Food Bank’s Virtual Food Drive to save a trip to the store.
Give Time. It’s been said that time is our most valuable commodity. At Utah Food Bank, we’ll help you put it to good use. Last year, Utah Food Bank utilized over 85,000 volunteer hours — the equivalent of 41 full-time employees!
Give Money. A $1 donation is actually $7.35 worth of food and services. This is possible through generous food donations and tremendous community support. Utah Food Bank distributes resources statewide, and all contributions are tax-deductible.
Food Bank Facts Servings Per Year: 31.3 million meals Servings Weight: 37.5 million pounds Avg. Cost Per Meal in Utah
$2.63 % of Total
Food Collection Sources Grocery Rescue 34% Local Commercial Donations 23% Government Commodities 17% National Commercial Donations 17% Food Drives 5% Purchased 3% Funding Sources Community 39% Grants/Foundations 25% Government Contracts 18% Corporate/Sponsorships 16% United Way 2% General Information Counties Served 29 Partner Agencies 140 Volunteer Hours Served 85,079 Miles Traveled 422,981 UFB Values: Dignity, Hope, Community, Compassion, Integrity, Transparency, Respect, Vision, Stewardship, Partnership, Open Communication, Teamwork, Creativity
UtahFoodBank.org • facebook.com/utahfoodbank • @utahfoodbank
INGREDIENTS: • Scouting for Food • Night at the Warehouse • Stamp Out Hunger • Summer Business Food & Fund Drive • Driving Out Hunger • Beating Hunger by a Mile • H.A.M. It Up Against Hunger Race • Hunger Action Month • Utah Human Race • Holiday Food & Fund Drive
3150 S. 900 W. Salt Lake City, UT 84119 801-978-2452