A Biblical story inspired Wendy Osborne to start Tabitha's Way Food Pantry in Spanish Fork in 2010.
The scripture in Acts 9:36-9:41 depicts the story of a woman named Tabitha, who provided food and clothing to the poor and needy.
At her death, many mourned for Tabitha because of the charity she offered so many in her community.
The Apostle Peter was moved by the affection of those mourning her. Peter then prayed over Tabitha and she was raised from the dead.
A few years ago Tabitha's Way expanded to American Fork too. Osborne says she thinks of it as bookends to the Utah County community and the 100,000 people facing food insecurity there.
"A lot of people think that the only people that need a food pantry are the people who are homeless, or people who, you know, don't want to work. And the truth is we are neighbors helping neighbors these are individuals just like you and i who are falling on tough times," says Osborne.
Last year alone, Tabitah's Way provided food to 20,000 local families, many of those with children. In fact, one in five kids are hungry on any given day.
Osborne says, "It's a hard thing to see when little kids come in and they're struggling but at the same time it's such a blessing too, to know that these children have access to food."
She thinks of it as a blessing to be able to help, with a mission of creating what she calls 'No Hunger Zones'. That's an innovative approach to providing food assistance by encouraging local communities to take ownership of the problem of hunger by creating the zones.
A 'No Hunger Zone' exists when a community, as a whole, takes emotional and financial responsibility to proactively resolve food insecurity for a minimum of three consecutive years.
And that's why Smith's Food & Drug and Fox 13 presented Osborne with the Zero Hunger Hero award.
Aubriana Martindale from Smiths said, "Tabitha's Way and you have set a tremendous goal of creating a no hunger zone which lines perfectly with our Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative." She continued, "And because of your efforts we would like to honor Tabitha's Way as the Zero Hunger Hero for the month of April."
If you'd like to help, you can donate funds, hold a food drive or even volunteer your time. For more information please visit tabitahsway.org.
