MURRAY, Utah — According to officials with the Utah Food Bank, one in eight Utahns deals with food insecurity every day. That means roughly 415,000 people and the number is continuing to rise. But one small pantry in Murray is trying to put a dent in the problem.
Lynn Olsen runs the Murray Park Church of Christ Food Pantry. His pantry is only open one day a week, on Thursdays. "We have people come from all backgrounds and we're helping, on average right now, about 430 people per week, walk up here to our pantry and get a box of food," Olsen stated.
Olsen has been running the Murray pantry for a dozen years now. He came with a neighbor one day to get them some food and has been here ever since.
“We help all kinds of people from anywhere and everywhere. We don’t care who they are or what they do, come here and get food once a week and we give them a box of food,” explained Olsen.
Roughly two dozen volunteers keep the doors open on Thursdays and keep the food donations flowing. Olsen states that last year alone more than 22,000 people came to the pantry for food. And when you factor in their families back home, Olsen says that translates to roughly 80,000 people served from just this small pantry.
“It’s too bad that the need is so huge but that’s the way it is and that’s where we’re at," expressed Olsen. "And it’s been going on a long time!”
The Murray Park Church of Christ Food Pantry is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Thursday.
The vast majority of what they give out is provided by the Utah Food Banks, but they are always ready, willing, able, and grateful to accept donations. Whether it's food, hygiene items, or cash. You can donate on Wednesdays, when volunteers are restocking the shelves after the weekly shipment from the food bank.
