Last year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 32 million pounds of pasta, flour and other goods to food banks across the country to help feed those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For 2020, our plan at Deseret Mill and Pasta was to produce 480,000 cases of food, but we ended up making 922,000 cases,” said Roberto Gaertner, Deseret Mill and Pasta plant manager, in a Friday, June 18, Newsroom release.
The Deseret Mill and Pasta facility in Kaysville, Utah, is increasing its production of more than 30 products to help families increase their food storage during times of emergency and to benefit those in need.
The Church purchased the plant in the 1940s as part of the Church’s welfare program. It was expanded in 2015 with the addition of the pasta plant. Wheat and other food processed at the nearly 86,000-square-foot facility come from Church farms and vendors in the United States.
“We’re now producing enough for our own needs, but we’re also producing enough to be able to give away to food banks and other humanitarian partners that we collaborate with,” said Gordon Carmen, director of production and distribution for the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department.
Plans call for expanding the donations of beans, cake and pancake mixes, flour, oats, rice and pasta again in 2022. The pastas include macaroni, macaroni and cheese, ribbon pasta and spaghetti.
Read more about how the Church’s wheat supply provides food for home storage and humanitarian efforts on Newsroom.
