Young men help fill Box Elder Food Pantry's needs — and freezers
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Box Elder County, Utah, isn't immune to the sting of the economic downturn. Linda Hansen, director of the Box Elder Food Pantry, reported more than 100 additional families in need of assistance this year, which is why she is especially grateful for the young men of the Perry 4th Ward, Perry Utah Stake, for donating close to 900 pounds of turkeys to the food pantry.
"It's awesome," she said. "We appreciate them so much. Their donation allows 62 families to have a holiday meal this year."
Michael Young, the Perry 4th Ward Young Men secretary, said, "It's a good experience for [the young men] to see the need and then to fill it."
The annual turkey drive was organized several years ago as a service project for the teachers quorum, and it continues to expand. Last year they collected 50 turkeys; this year the number increased to more than 60. Brother Young said he hopes that it continues to grow. "It would be great to see other wards pick up on it so that some day we could make an even bigger contribution to the food pantry," he said.
The young men began by asking members of the ward to contribute and passing around sign-up sheets for donations. After collecting the frozen turkeys, the young men delivered them to the pantry and loaded them into the pantry's freezers.
Brother Young said it's important for the young men in the area to understand how the food pantry operates. Many of them live in a financially secure environment, he said, and don't realize what some people have to do to survive. "This is an eye-opener for them."
He hopes that the young men are inspired to keep doing it. "I hope that someday when they're Young Men leaders that they will do something like this for their community."
The pantry director said she hopes the young men see the way that people at the pantry are treated with dignity and respect and that they better understand the need in the community. "I hope it instills in them a sense of wanting to help," she said.
