President & CEO Message
This fiscal year brought a lot of changes—and a lot of successes, which we could not have done without your support. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Utah was the top state in the nation for total job growth in 2018. However, we significantly increased the amount of poundage we distributed across the state to the tune of an additional 4.1 million pounds. The fact that our distribution increased along with job growth tells the other side of the "job growth" story. The reality is that many of the jobs being added are not in sectors where many of our clients would be qualified. In addition, many of the new jobs being added don’t Ginette Bott President & CEO pay quite enough for people to make ends meet, especially when you take Utah’s lack of affordable housing into consideration.
The primary drivers for this increased distribution were attributed to two very important programs: Grocery Rescue and Mobile Pantry. By increasing distribution of food collected through our Grocery Rescue program, not only did we increase capacity, but we also increased the amount of fresh and nutritious foods available for our clients. Increasing distribution through our Mobile Pantry program allowed us to reach more people living in food deserts and areas underserved by brick-and-mortar pantries. The increase in distribution of healthy foods, along with increased access points helped us deliver more food—and healthier food—to Kent Liston Utahns facing hunger. Chief Financial Officer
We said goodbye to a long-time friend, Jim Yorgason, who announced his retirement from his role as President & CEO in January 2018. After a lengthy search and hiring process, I was selected by our board of directors to take over as President & CEO, and am incredibly humbled by this opportunity. I am so grateful to Jim for his eight years of service and leadership at Utah Food Bank, and wish him well on his retirement journey.
We still have a long way to go in Fighting Hunger Statewide, but statistics indicate that we are moving the needle in the right direction. Utah’s rates of food insecurity have declined since last year (from 392,000 to Scott Woodhead 382,000 individuals), and fewer kids are unsure where their next meal will come from. As housing becomes Chief Operations Officer harder to afford and decent-paying jobs are harder to find, our fight will only get harder, so we are incredibly grateful to have such a committed base of supporters in our community. Thank you for joining us in the fight against hunger. We got more out of every dollar donated.
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