President & CEO Message
My second full year as President & CEO began with an expansion of our Mobile School Pantry program, while at the same time expanding in-school pantries at locations where need outpaced our monthly distributions. We expanded to 203 partner agencies and continued to focus on reaching all six corners of our state, and everywhere in between, with food resources. Little did we know just how much things were about to change.
Ginette Bott During the Great Recession in 2008, I worked in the financial services industry while President & CEO volunteering as a board member for Utah Food Bank. I saw how that crisis impacted lives from both sides. With COVID-19, I am once again witnessing the devastating impact a catastrophe can have on our friends and neighbors. Almost overnight, I saw the number of Utahns facing hunger jump from 374,000 to 511,000. As businesses and schools closed, families across Utah found themselves struggling to make ends meet and feed their children, many for the first time. With supply chains breaking down and the need for assistance skyrocketing, food banks across the country were stretched thin and struggled to meet the demand.
Mobile Pantry distributions increased 49% over 2019, and lines were still longer than ever before, including our largest one-time distribution to date held at the Maverik Kent Liston Center in April. This emergency food distribution served more than 5,000 families, Chief Financial Officer impacting a total of approximately 29,000 individuals in a matter of hours.
At the same time, Utah Food Bank was fortunate to have an overwhelming outpouring of support from our community — and with the concerted effort of many, we rose to the challenge and met the increase in need. Just as importantly, our incredible staff and volunteers stepped up to the challenge. With their hard work, flexibility, and determination, we distributed 52.9 million pounds of food last year. A record- breaking amount, and an increase of 7.2 million pounds over 2019! I consider myself fortunate to view this catastrophe from both sides as well — urgent need matched with extraordinary generosity.
Scott Woodhead At some point, this pandemic will end. However, the disastrous economic impact it Chief Operations Officer has had on thousands of Utah families will linger for years to come. Food lines are not going away any time soon. Despite this, I have good reason to be optimistic about the future. Through this past year, I have witnessed incredible support from across our state to help us achieve our mission of Fighting Hunger Statewide. No matter what the future holds, this past year has shown me that Utahns will be here for their neighbors — and we will be here for any Utahn struggling to feed themselves or their families. We got more out of every dollar donated.
donated Year-End Snapshot Accountability Cents of Every Dollar Donated Went to = . ungry Utahns orth of goods and services ids Cafe Program 484,234 Meals Served 106 Sites
Where do we get our food? in Utah Children Face unger
Mobile School Pantries 336,414 . Million Mobile Pantries Clients Served Meals 654,934 85 Sites Distributed Clients Served 40 Sites . Million lbs
Where do we get our money? olunteer ours Served E uivalent to Full- ime Employees