Utah County Sheriff’s deputies cook up surprise for county employee during pandemic
Matt Grant reacts as he's greeted by Brady Christensen, Utah County buildings and grounds division manager, while Grant and others eat near Code 7 Cafe on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork.
Matt Grant places trays on a conveyor belt to be filled with food as he and others prepare meals Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork.
Matt Grant grimaces as he tries to unscrew a bottle of soda while he and others eat near Code 7 Cafe on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork.
Matt Grant gives a thumbs up to a friend as he eats near Code 7 Cafe on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork.
With the Utah County Sheriff’s Office cook assistant Matt Grant social distancing at home for over a month, deputies made a surprise visit.
Grant has been working at the Utah County Sheriff’s Office for over 20 years. The Utah County man was born with a rare chromosomal abnormality, and doctors initially told Carol Grant that he could only live for a couple years after he was born. Now, Matt Grant is about to celebrate his 45th birthday.
Carol Grant became a single mom five years after Matt Grant was born. She raised her son to be compassionate and independent, and when he was old enough, Matt moved into a group home.
He visits his mom often throughout the week and spends nearly every weekend and holiday with her, but one of his favorite places to be is in the kitchen preparing food in the Code 7 Café. The café, manned by some 30 inmates, serves 100-140 employees for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office each day.
When the pandemic hit, Matt Grant was one of the first people to be sent home for his safety, as he is in the high-risk category and is considered a nonessential employee. What was initially meant to be a two-week hiatus has been extended a number of times.
Now, Matt Grant hasn’t seen his kitchen or his friends in over a month.
“It’s been hard on him,” his mother said.
Carol Grant began to notice a change in her son, and after a while he became more depressed, missing his friends and the feeling of accomplishment he experienced when earning a paycheck.
During his daily group time, his leaders promoted him to an unpaid supervisor position to try to lift his spirits, but it only temporarily filled the gap of seeing the faces of people he has known for over 20 years.
Matt Grant’s mother mentioned his experiences to a family friend in the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, and the deputy jumped at the opportunity to show the cook assistant how much the jail’s staff and inmates miss him.
On April 24, four Utah County Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled into the roundabout outside of Matt Grant’s house with sirens and lights activated. Matt Grant was outside when they came around the corner.
“We miss you, Matt,” deputies said over their speakers.
Each of the deputies had a special gift for him: a bag of Funions, a six-pack of root beer, cookies, stick-on badges, notebooks, a new county sheriff’s office hat and a bag full of candy.
For now, there is no saying when Matt Grant will be able to come back to work.
“They told me, ‘He is a nonessential employee, but he is the most essential person in this building,'” Carol Grant said.
Throughout the more than two decades he has served the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, Matt Grant has changed the lives of several staff and inmates.
Matt and Carol Grant have become something of local celebrities in Utah County, and when released inmates see him and his mom out and about, they almost always stop to say “Hi.” Several inmates also have shared with Carol Grant how her son, affectionately known as “Matty” among the Utah County Jail population, impacted their lives.
During the Christmas holiday a few years ago, Carol Grant went to visit her son at work and spoke with an inmate who shared his story with a group of his peers.
“One of the chaplains was talking about religion, and he asked a question and one of the inmates raised his hand,” she said. “The chaplain told him to go ahead, and the inmate said, ‘Well, in my AA classes, we were talking about we need to go to the higher power. I told them I work down in the kitchen, and I already work with a higher power. I see God in Matthew’s eyes every day that I go to work.'”
Another inmate credited Matt Grant with saving his life, detailing how he was going to use his time in the kitchen to take his life, but refused to do it in front of the cook assistant with whom he had become acquainted. Matt Grant would not leave the inmate’s side that day, knowing something was wrong.
Carol Grant said inmates love her son’s happy demeanor and how he is always enjoying life and approaching any task in a refreshing and motivated way. Although he can’t talk, communicating mostly through hand gestures and some sign language, the inmates feel he gives them a voice, Carol Grant said.
