Kamas’ food pantry operates out of South Summit Elementary School right now.
It’s been about 2.5 years since the city had a permanent location for the pantry. Laura Vernor, who runs the Coalville and Oakley food pantries for Community Action Services, said the rent priced them out.
Building back the food bank is a matter of money too.
Lisa Thomas, Community Action food programs manager, said the Provo-based nonprofit just can’t afford a brick-and-mortar location in Kamas right now, much less pay a supervisor to run it.
“We only have about a month's worth of food to get us through to serve six of our Community Action pantries. So right now, that is unfortunately not in the cards,” she said.
About 90% of the food Vernor has in Coalville and Oakley comes from Community Action’s distribution center in Provo, Thomas said.
The Kamas City Council is looking for a way to help the local pantry because, as Mayor Matt McCormick noted during the Feb. 13 meeting, “the need keeps growing.”
The council has directed staff to find new potential locations.
In the meantime, Thomas said Community Action plans to expand its mobile food pantries into Summit County this year. The trucks could be ready this spring.
Community Action is coordinating with the Christian Center of Park City, whose mobile food pantries range across the Wasatch Back, to make sure they don’t hit the same locations on the same days.
Thomas said they’ll focus on Henefer and Francis, the eastside towns farthest from Community Action’s Coalville and Oakley locations.
CCPC’s food pantry manager, Jaime Mira, confirmed the need is there. The Christian Center started its own mobile pantries three years ago, and increased its reach year over year.
“We expanded in Coalville and Kamas,” Mira said. “Our goal this year is to do more in Heber City.”
The Christian Center’s mobile pantries alone served about 5,400 people last year.
Thomas estimates anywhere from 50 to 70 families use Community Action’s Oakley food pantry per month.
