Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

The number of people who receive food assistance at Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry in northern Utah County has doubled in the past year. In response, their hours have been increased for providing food assistance each week. However, the pantry, located in American Fork, is still extremely busy. That is why a new satellite location has just opened in Saratoga Springs.

According to Mike Carter, co-founder, about 21% of the pantry’s clients live in Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain or west Lehi.

“Depending on the day and time, it takes many of our clients 25 minutes to an hour to drive each way to Tabitha’s Way in American Fork,” he said. “When you are food insecure, affording the gas money to travel that far can be a real hardship for families. This will also extend our service area to Cedar Fort, Camp Williams and the Herriman area as well.”

The No. 1 reason for such an increase in the number of people needing food assistance is inflation, according to Carter. “It isn’t just the high cost of food; it’s also the high cost of housing, transportation, utilities, medical care and prescriptions, and just about everything. Many new clients who come in for the first time tell us they used to volunteer, but now they are clients,” he said. “They tell us they never thought in their lifetime they would be at a food pantry as a client. They used to make enough money to cover their expenses and have a little bit of savings, but now they have no savings and don’t have enough money to cover everything.”

By receiving food assistance, families are able to apply the money they would have spent on food toward housing and other pressing needs. Other common reasons for people needing food assistance include medical expenses, job loss, divorce, living on a fixed income, violence, homelessness and grown children moving back home. Carter said that even though the rate of inflation has gone down nationally, inflation is still a huge problem because the inflated prices have not gone down.

Jeremy Hall

At Tabitha’s Way, the experiences of those who are in need illustrate the growing problem with food insecurity. Hundreds of seniors, veterans, single parents and disabled people who were barely getting by on a fixed income prior to inflation hitting so hard are seeking help at the pantry because they are now unable to cover all of their bills.

“Many people no longer can afford the high cost of rent. Some have moved out of their home or apartment and are living in a variety of conditions, like living on a friend’s couch, renting a room, living in a hotel room, living in a car, or in an RV or tent,” Carter said. “These are the inflation stories that most of us don’t see or hear about.”

The new satellite pantry, located at 1509 Commerce Drive, Unit 2, Saratoga Springs, offers food assistance with volunteers helping clients. This is the third Tabitha’s Way location in Utah County, with the others in American Fork and Spanish Fork. The satellite pantry is still in the soft opening phase, with hours on Tuesday through Thursday each week. Additional hours are expected to be added in coming months.

Small donations of food can be given at the Saratoga Springs location, but large donations need to be delivered to one of the other locations as there is not a warehouse at the satellite.

Regular food donations, volunteers and financial donations are what keep the pantries running and what keeps food on the table for hundreds of local families and individuals every week.

Check out the Tabitha’s Way website for more information about hours and volunteering. The Saratoga Springs location is especially in need of volunteers who can work a one- to three-hour shift each week, but any volunteers are needed and appreciated.

Newsletter