LuAnn Hayes Lukenbach is the owner of LuAnn’s Cupcakes, a business she started out of her husband’s old garage in Silver Creek. When she heard SNAP benefits may be ending, she rallied her community.
“I was feeling really bad about it, and frustrated that it was happening. But then I started thinking about what I could possibly do to help,” she said. ”So I decided, instead of just being mad about it, that I would rally my neighbors and friends and gather some things to see what we could do to help the situation.”
Lukenbach took to Facebook, calling on those who were able to bring any and all donations to her bakery at 656 Division Street in Silver Creek or to the mailbox house off Silver Creek Road.
“We even have people that are volunteering to go pick it up. If people can't get over to where we are, we'd be happy to go pick it up from them,” she said.
She said the bins will stay in place until Nov. 10 and all donations will be brought to the Christian Center of Park City, a resource center in the Wasatch Back that serves those in need.
“Maybe we can't help everyone, but maybe we can help someone” she said. “And so if everyone does what they can, the combination is really empowering.”
Jessica Bryant is CCPC’s deputy director of grants and marketing. She said the center has a webpage that can help residents start their own food drives. In addition to traditional food items like canned goods and nonperishables, Bryant says the center also accepts hygiene items.
“We can use diapers, sizes 2, 4, 5 and 6 and personal hygiene items. We also can use adult diapers,” Bryant said.
She said the center will also take frozen meats.
“We have quite a few freezers in our back room, and we've even had people who are hunters bring us the meat that they get processed from deer,” she said. “Or people who are ranchers have brought us pounds and pounds of individually packaged ground beef.”
The Christian Center’s food pantries in Heber and Park City are open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Christian Center of Park City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
