The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked with the Food Bank of Alaska to provide approximately 12,000 Thanksgiving dinners around the state.
The event, called “Thanksgiving Blessing,” took place over two November days at 11 sites.
Daniel Bentle, chief philanthropy officer of the Food Bank of Alaska, said it is the biggest event of the year, taking months of planning and collaboration by dozens of businesses and interfaith organizations.
“[The Church] has stepped in to just provide shipment after shipment after shipment of support,” Bentle said in a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
One of the things the Church provided was butter — a delicacy that can cost up to $10 a pound in a state with only one dairy.
“Having dairy brought into the state and the support that we’ve gotten from [the Church] is incredible,” he said.
The news release says nearly 15% of Alaskans struggle with food security.
Krystal Poole and her four children were among the first families to receive a meal in Palmer, which offered canned goods, potatoes, stuffing mix, biscuit mix, pies and a frozen turkey, among other items.
“Being a single mom with all my children here, working full time, it’s still hard,” said Poole. “Food costs are really high right now, and when it comes to Thanksgiving, you still want to provide that good meal for your family, [which] is definitely a blessing.”
Jessica Betham, who went to the distribution at a Church meetinghouse in Anchorage, said it was a blessing as well. “I don’t know what I would do. My two youngest [children] have kidney disease. I’m not able to make as much [money] as I would like because I have to work from home. So, this helps me tons.”
Volunteers, including Latter-day Saints and full-time missionaries, served the food at several of the sites.
Wasilla Alaska Stake President Jeff Taylor said: “How grateful we are for those who will come and participate. If we didn’t have people that we could serve, it would be a lonely world.”
Some of the volunteers had been recipients in the past. Betham felt of their love.
“I like the fact that they make you feel like you’re not getting a handout,” said Betham. “It’s warm, and it’s welcoming, and it’s kind of ‘we’re here to help.’”
This is just part of the relationship the Church has with the Food Bank of Alaska. For example, in October, the Church donated semitruckloads of food from its Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City to help with several other challenges in the state.
