Residents of Mt. Pleasant in Sanpete County, Utah feel very fortunate to have an organization like the Sanpete Pantry, which serves 275 families in the county through its weekly meal distribution program. The Sanpete Pantry is the only food bank in the entire county, and they offer much more than just meals. Executive Director, Jeff Jarman, is a retired member of UMWA Local 1769 where he served nearly three elected terms as an officer.
The Sanpete Pantry provides weekly food distribution from their main facility in Mt. Pleasant every Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition to a local distribution location, the pantry makes mobile food drops at Ephraim and Gunnison on a regular basis to the people of the community who are not able to travel to them to receive meals. The Pantry is in the planning process of reaching out to other areas of the county as well.
KidsPack Weekend Meal Distribution
Not only does the Sanpete Pantry offer meals on a weekly basis to the citizens of Sanpete County, they offer a KidsPack Weekend Program. The program works with local volunteers that help prepare packed meals for children to take home to serve as sustenance over the weekend until they are able to attend school and receive their two meals a day. “There are disadvantaged children that go hungry every day, but we don’t hear about them,” says Jarman. “Public schools offer subsidized breakfast and lunch programs during school hours, but what happens to those same children on the weekends? The KidsPack program strives to bridge that gap.”
Hunger has a direct impact on a child’s ability to learn, as well as their overall health later on in life. The Sanpete Pantry delivers meal packs for distribution to these children every week in an effort to help nourish their minds and bodies in preparation for learning and growing.
The Sanpete Pantry relies heavily on its community partners through donations. Since COVID-19, operating funds have increased while donations have severely dwindled. During peak employment at Deer Creek Mine, roughly 40 percent of nearly 600 employees were residing in Sanpete County. Many families and extended family members of former employees experienced layoffs, unemployment and COVID-19 related illnesses.
Donations are what keeps the people of Sanpete County fed. If you’d like to make a donation, you can do so by sending a check or stopping by the main facility at:
Sanpete Pantry
1080 Blackhawk Blvd.
Mt Pleasant, UT 84647
435-462-3006
