At a time when people want to be with their families and celebrate the holidays, food pantry Tabitha’s Way is helping local people in need do just that. Oftentimes, families in need are able to go to other locations to eat a free holiday meal, at Tabitha’s Way, people are able to get the fixings for their holiday meals so that they can prepare them at home.

“Family seems to be more important to all of us during this pandemic. So many have lost loved ones, experienced illness and have had extreme stress put on their families as a result of COVID,” said Mike Carter, American Fork’s Tabitha’s Way founder. “Being able to gather around a holiday meal with those you love the most, strengthening family bonds and creating memories, provides a real lift to many struggling individuals and families.”

According to Carter, many of the families that are served at Tabitha’s Way struggle to put food on the table on a daily basis, so finding the money to purchase a turkey — much less a full holiday meal — is not possible. “Through the generous donations of local individuals and businesses, we are able to provide over 1,000 Thanksgiving dinners that will feed thousands of people in our community during the holidays,” Carter said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Tabitha’s Way has increased the number of people served by as much as 23%. “The financial implications of large medical bills, loss of hours at work or job loss, at the same time of illness, have been overwhelming to many,” Carter said. “The effects of the pandemic on our community mirrors the need for food assistance. As the pandemic was at its worst, the need for food was at its greatest. Currently, the need for food, volunteering and financial donations is high.”

More than 20 grocery stores in Utah County donate food regularly to both of the Tabitha’s Way pantries in Spanish Fork and American Fork. These stores donate approximately two million pounds of food each year. Tabitha’s Way is also a partner agency of the Utah Food Bank, which provides substantial amounts of food to the food pantry weekly.

While food donations are greatly helpful, monetary donations are vital for Tabitha’s Way to be able to serve clients through both pantries. According to Carter, donations are used to pay for food, box trucks and drivers to pick up food, rent, insurance and other common business expenses. Tabitha’s Way is a nonprofit 501(c)3 that serves thousands of children, veterans, seniors and other people in Utah County each month.

Tabitha’s Way partners with Utah County schools to provide vouchers to families in need of holiday dinners. Schools can identify the families in need, deliver vouchers to them and provide dinners to be picked up from Tabitha’s Way which can be cooked at home. Local volunteers assemble the dinners and participate in handing the dinners out to the families at both locations. Tabitha’s Way also provides holiday dinners to other organizations that serve veterans, seniors, children, families with a single head of household and more.

Wendy Osborne, Tabitha’s Way founder, said that when people are struggling financially, the thought of having a holiday dinner seems out of reach. “We want our families to celebrate this special time of year and know that they are not viewed differently because of their life’s challenges,” she said. “We hope that in providing these meals they feel respected, dignified and loved.”

In addition to the 1,000 Thanksgiving meals that will be given to people in need, the pantries are trying to raise enough money to provide 600 Christmas dinners. For more information, to volunteer and to donate, people can go to http://tabithasway.org.

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