ST. GEORGE – Utah Food Bank is proud to announce the dedication of its Southern Utah Branch building, located at 4416 South River Road, St. George.
Dedication of the branch will take place March 14, at 2 p.m.
“The communities in Southern Utah bring so much value to our state’s culture, economy and spirit of giving,” Southern Branch Manager Linda Trujillo said. “As a statewide organization, Utah Food Bank is proud to work hand-in-hand with our partner agencies in the seven southern Utah counties to help further strengthen their efforts to fight hunger.”
Although the official dedication of the building will occur on March 14, UFB started its efforts to establish a southern branch a year ago. The goal of the yearlong effort was to work with the communities and generate stronger relationships with partner agencies before officially dedicating the southern branch building.
As a result, more than 4.5 million pounds of food and goods have been distributed to local pantries since January 2011. From that total, 1.8 million pounds of fresh product was donated by local grocers and then distributed to participating pantries through Utah Food Bank’s Grocery Rescue program.
“Our partner agencies in Southern Utah have been doing a tremendous job in caring for those in need for years,” Trujillo said. “Our purpose in opening a branch in Southern Utah is not to replace their incredible efforts, but to strengthen them.”
Another deciding factor in establishing a branch location came after years of logistical challenges and being faced with rising transportation costs.
“If we received an order of produce from Arizona, we would have to transport the load to Salt Lake City before we could distribute it,” the food bank’s chief operating officer, Jim Yorgason, said. “Now, if we need a portion of that load to go to Cedar City, we can account for it in St. George without the cost and expense of bringing it to Salt Lake City and sending it back to Cedar City.”
At the ceremony on March 14, an open house and tours of the facility, remarks from UFB management will be offered and Elder Randy W. Wilkinson of Area 70, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, will dedicate the building.
For more information about the new building, the dedication, and if you would like to attend, please contact David S. Johnson at telephone 801-887-1278 or by email to [email protected].
About Utah Food Bank:
Utah Food Bank provides food to a statewide network of 135 emergency food pantries and agencies. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank distributed 33.3 million pounds of food and goods, the equivalent of over 26 million meals for families and individuals in need. Utah Food Bank also served 222,837 Kids Cafe meals, delivered 31,044 food boxes and filled 19,884 kids’ backpacks for weekends and school holidays.
Further information links: Utah Food Bank website; Utah Food Bank on facebook; and Utah Food Bank on twitter.