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Sanpete Pantry doors to stay open!

By Staff | Nov 14, 2019

Dear Editor:

There is only good news at the Sanpete Pantry. The anticipated closure of Sanpete Pantry on Nov. 1 created quite a response in the community. People of all walks contacted us to see how they can help: volunteers, donations, and other offers to serve.

We have enough food, but not enough staff and funding to get the food out to the people in our community who need it. There are still many challenges going forward, but we are thrilled to announce that Sanpete Pantry will not be closing its doors anytime soon!

We believe in miracles and really need one or two more, in order to stay open and to continue to serve those in our community that desperately need our help. We are working hard to find additional sources of donations.

You can help us by ‘thinking out-of-the-box’ and letting us know of any organization that could help with GRANTS or DONATIONS. If you know of any, or are affiliated with any, please contact us immediately!

The following are some of the ‘miracles’ that we have been currently blessed with:

Partnership with Utah Food Bank (UFB): This new partnership is a tremendous asset to the Sanpete Pantry. UFB has agreed to help us apply for much-needed grants, and will work with our new directors to train volunteers and employees. We express our profound gratitude to the Utah Food Bank for this valuable assistance.

New pantry directors: Dave and Lurlynn Potter, of Spring City, have stepped in with much enthusiasm and a wealth of experience and knowledge to take over as co-directors of the Pantry.

This new direction will surely bring with it changes that will only make Sanpete Pantry better able to serve its community.

Dave Potter comes to us as a certified project management professional with 25 years of experience at Conoco-Phillips as senior financial analyst and IT coordinator. He also has worked the past 12 years at Wells Fargo Bank as project manager and web developer.

For the past 14 years he has donated thousands of hours of work in creating a food pantry software which has been used throughout Utah. He recently enhanced the program to be internet based.

The software is now being installed in some of the largest food pantries and school districts in the state. He believes in ‘miracles’ and asks everyone to join in our quest to receive some ‘mighty miracles’ to save our pantry.

For the past four years, Dave and his two partners have grown potatoes here in the valley and have donated thousands of pounds to the pantry, schools, churches, and needy people.

When they first started growing the potatoes, they thought they would only harvest about 10,000 lbs. which they would share with the community … but instead … they ended up harvesting over 240,000 lbs. of potatoes! He is now expecting similar miracles for our pantry.

Lurlynn Potter brings with her a bachelor’s degree in business administration / marketing and over 20 years of marketing experience, including social media, fundraising, event coordination, donor relations, volunteer management and knowledge of grant writing.

Both Dave and Lurlynn are published authors, accomplished musicians and respected members in the community.

In conclusion: Thank you to the community! Most of all, we at the Sanpete Pantry wish to thank the community for the tremendous response that we have received when people heard of our eminent closing.

People like Elizabeth Fackrell, who went to social media to reach out to the community through Facebook and created a site called Sanpete Service Opportunities to call for help. People have been calling and coming in to offer their help. It is a beautiful thing!

It is with profound thanks and deep gratitude that we thank all volunteers, past, present, and future, who help us keep our doors open to serve the needy among us.

We also wish to thank all those who have donated so generously, as well as many compassionate sponsors for their increased support and backing. We also express our deep regret at any distress or fear we may have caused during this crisis. Our purpose and intent are to help, not hurt, this community we love.

Going forward: We still have many challenges ahead as we strive for resilience, continued staffing, and necessary funding to keep our doors open. Grants, private donations, and community support will be critical to our continued success. Watch for updates in upcoming weeks about how we are doing and where we are in our progress.

P.S. If you know of anyone needing assistance from the pantry, please have them call the Sanpete Pantry between 10 a.m.-12 noon, at (435) 462-3006. Dave would love to visit with them and see how we can help them in any way we can.

Dave and Lurlynn Potter

Sanpete Pantry

Mt. Pleasant

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