Community Food Basket receives massive donation from LDS Church for America 250 celebration
Kaelyn Blessinger
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — As skyrocketing costs for housing, gas, and groceries are stretching local food banks’ resources, Idaho Falls’ Community Food Basket just received a helping hand. Tuesday, the Food Basket received a massive 24-pallet food donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Tuesday.
The donation is part of the ongoing America 250 celebration and comes as local families face increased food insecurity. Food Basket managers expect the sizeable donation will help cover needs during the critical summer months, when the absence of school-provided meals puts an additional strain on household budgets.
According to Food Basket Executive Director Ariel Jackson, the grocery budget is often gets the short end of the stick in the struggle between rent, gas, and food.
“Everything is just more expensive. And the one place that people have the tendency to cut is their food budget,” explains Ariel Jackson, Executive Director of the Community Food Basket in Idaho Falls. “So maybe you don’t buy milk, and maybe you don’t buy bread so that you can pay your other bills.”
The donation follows a huge increase in demand, or “food-flation,” since the 2020 pandemic. According to Jackson, the Food Basket is serving between 6,000 and 7,000 people a month.
The Idaho Falls delivery is part of a broader humanitarian effort by the Church amid the America 250 Celebration. In the past month, the faith has provided similar large-scale donations to food banks in Blackfoot, Rexburg, and Pocatello in addition to several hundred donations to food banks across the country.
If you are in a position to provide support to your local food bank, they are always taking donations. For more information, click HERE.