Volunteers load a car with groceries in June for people who took part in Farmers Feeding Utah. the event was held in the parking lot of Utah State University’s Maverick stadium.
SANDY – Farmers Feeding Utah organization is at it again. They announced their fourth Miracle Project last week. The group will be helping families employed in the energy industry in the Uinta Basin on the eastern side of the state. The benefit will happen at the end of September.
“Since the program launched in May, it has been able to raise more than $400,000 and provided more than 500,000 lbs. of food with a retail value of more than $600,000 to families in need in the Navajo Nation and Northern Utah,” said Matt Hargreaves of Utah Farm Bureau. “In Northern Utah we helped people in Tremonton, Brigham City, and Logan, West Salt Lake City, and smaller deliveries of sweet corn to pantries in Delta, Fillmore, Nephi, Spanish Fork, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Bountiful and others.”
He said the fourth project will benefit many families employed in the energy industry in the Uinta Basin which have been hit hard by the reduction in energy production during the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are several Ag related contributors in Cache Valley that have stepped up to help make the events across the state a success, Hargreaves said.
“Oakdale Eggs, Gossner’s Food and we had pork from farms from Cache Valley work with us also and there are more,” he said. “We also bought some beef from Box Elder County.”
They also received help from Farm Bureau members in other states. They received potatoes from Idaho and carrots from California.
“Early on we saw $400 donation from a lot of families, but that has slowed a little,” Hargreaves said. “Now we officially a 501(c) so we can reach out to businesses for donations and they can be tax deductions.”
The mission of Utah Farm Bureau is to inspire all Utah families to connect, succeed and grow through the Miracle of Agriculture and that’s what Farmers Feeding Utah Campaign is all about said Rod Gibson, Utah Farm Bureau Federation President.
“We’re encouraging all Utahns to help grow the miracle by donating to our state’s Farmer’s Feeding Utah campaign,” he said. “With your donations we can keep our states farm and ranch families producing the local food we need.”