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Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry in Spanish Fork moved last week to a new, larger location across the street from its former location. The move will enable the pantry to serve more individuals and families in need.

Courtesy photo

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Volunteers with Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry in Spanish Fork help ready the pantry's new facility for opening.

Courtesy photo

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Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry in Spanish Fork moved last week to a new, larger location across the street from its former location. The move will enable the pantry to serve more individuals and families in need.

Courtesy photo

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Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry in Spanish Fork moved last week to a new, larger location across the street from its former location. The move will enable the pantry to serve more individuals and families in need.

Courtesy photo

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Laura Giles

Jeremy Hall

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Everyone deserves a full table. That’s the belief of those who work to put food on the tables of families and individuals in Utah County. For 15 years, Tabitha’s Way Food Pantry in Spanish Fork has been helping people with a basic need — food. Now, the facility has moved across the street from its previous location so it can better meet the needs of the growing number of people seeking help. The new pantry is located at 50 E. 100 North.

“The new facility is significantly larger, increasing our capacity, both in the amount of food it can hold but also the number of families we can serve,” said Wendy Osborne, founder of Tabitha’s Way. “In our new location, the warehouse is three times the size and it’s attached. This will increase our operational efficiency and food safety.”

Additionally, with the larger warehouse space, larger coolers were able to be installed, increasing the ability to receive more fresh foods like dairy, produce and meats. These foods are important because they are nutritionally dense and often cost-prohibitive for people who are struggling financially.

The pantry’s new location was formerly a grocery store. Because the pantry’s operations are nearly identical to a grocery store, it was a good fit, and after some updating was completed, the pantry was able to make the move. Osborne said that by purchasing and remodeling the building, a lot of expenses were avoided compared to the cost of constructing a new building.

Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry has two other locations in Pleasant Grove and Saratoga Springs. The Spanish Fork pantry provides food to an average of 6,000 individuals every month.

The mission of Tabitha’s Way is to provide temporary food assistance to those in need. In fact, 75% of the clients get assistance for just four months or less.

However, as some people get back on their feet and need less help, others begin to struggle. “Our food pantries have seen a consistent increase in the number of families needing food assistance. On average, we have seen a 30% increase each year for the last four consecutive years,” Osborne said.

Although most households are earning more than they were five years ago, the cost for basic needs and housing have outpaced the incomes of many families living in Utah County, according to Osborne.

“For example, we did an 18-month survey and discovered that 56% of the families we serve are paying 50% or more of their monthly income towards housing,” she said. “These factors, combined with the surge in population in our county, have had a significant impact on our pantries. We needed a larger facility to accommodate current demands and future growth.”

So, how can the rest of us help with this important work? Currently, the pantry’s greatest needs are volunteers and funds. “We need more helping hands to sort, stock and serve the families that come to our pantry. Additionally, as the demand for assistance grows, so have our expenses. Although we are highly efficient and can provide a complete meal for approximately 20 cents, we are serving more meals than ever before — over 3.1 million to be exact,” Osborne said.

Individuals or companies wanting to help can sign up to volunteer or donate on the Tabitha’s Way website at tabithasway.org. More information can also be found on the Tabitha’s Way Facebook pages.