For months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to donate truckload after truckload of food donations to food banks across the United States.
The Church is committed to donating 250 truckloads of food in 2026 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Each truckload carries approximately 40,000 pounds of food — enough to feed 1,400 people for a week. The donations actually started in November 2025 and are set to continue throughout 2026.
Latter-day Saints joined a local group of the Knights of Columbus from Laguna Niguel, California, on Saturday, Feb. 21, to help unload a delivery of food in Irvine, California. The group also included youth volunteers who learned about the event through JustServe.org.
The JustServe platform is a free website and app where community organizations list their service needs and where volunteers can find service opportunities near them.
Because the donation was so large, the volunteers worked to sort and organize boxes of shelf-stable food to go to 11 different food banks, churches and missions in the area.
Not only will the food benefit those in need in the Irvine area, but the service activity was also a blessing to those who came to help.
“It feels good to be able to help others who are in need,” said Jonas Takagi, who drove from San Diego with his brother to help.
Sheila Teevans, the chief of staff at South County Outreach, one of the nonprofit organizations that received part of the food donation, said they rely on JustServe volunteers each week.
“We have been so lucky to connect with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the past few years,” Teevans said. “We love what they do.”
Taking pressure off
Carol Hollowell, CEO and founder of Switchpoint in St. George, Utah, which includes a food pantry, said they haven’t seen a bigger influx of families in need since they opened 12 years ago.
“Inflation and what’s happening in our economy [right now] has impacted us more than COVID did,” Hollowell said.
Switchpoint received a donation of 20,000 pounds of food from the Church on Thursday, March 5. Some 120 volunteers — many of them JustServe volunteers — showed up that day to help unload the donation and sort it.
“It’s food that we don’t normally get,” Hollowell said. “The dried goods that have good shelf life, it helps a lot for our grocery rescue.”
Hollowell said they often receive food that is about to expire, so it can’t sit on shelves for long. But the food from the Church can help families in need extend simple meals with things like salt, flour, sugar, pasta and cornmeal.
“It took some pressure off our local systems to where we feel like we’re not having to say, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t give you enough to last this week,’” Hollowell said.
Hollowell said that depending on how it’s used, the donated food would be used to expand 10,000 to 15,000 meals.
“It’s the kind of thing that really helps our clients.”
New York and Nebraska donations
Another food bank, Feeding Westchester in Elmsford, New York, received food on March 19. The organization works with 175 other partner agencies — including food pantries, soup kitchens, schools and community centers — to distribute food donations.
“Together, this is what service at scale looks like — meeting urgent needs while building stronger, more connected communities,” a social media post on Feeding Westchester’s Facebook page reads.
The Food Bank of Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, received 40,000 pounds of food from the Church on Tuesday, March 17. In a social media post, the food bank thanked the Church for the donation of canned goods, staple grains and dried milk.
“We are beyond grateful to be included in this nationwide effort to alleviate hunger and support neighbors across all 50 states,” the post on Facebook said. “Our work is only possible through the kind of compassion and collaboration that sparks initiatives like this one, and we are thankful to everyone whose time, funds and hearts came together to make this possible.”
Other America250 collaborations
In addition to the Church’s food donations and JustServe collaboration, the Church will celebrate the 250th United States anniversary with a special fast, family history activities and music.
In a letter released on March 12, the First Presidency of the Church invited all to participate in a unified fast of gratitude for religious liberty. The fast is scheduled for Sunday, July 5 — the day after the United States’ Independence Day on July 4.
Also, The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was selected to be part of “America’s Soundtrack,” a national music collection created to commemorate the 250th anniversary, ChurchofJesusChrist.org announced on March 5.
