PARK CITY, Utah — Paula Seeley was first introduced to the Christian Center of Park City many years ago.
“I became a single mom about 15 years ago,” she said. "It was critical for me to be able to feed my son and myself and put diapers on him.”
Little did Seeley know that the place that helped her get back on her feet gave her a purpose.
“I was so thankful for this place that I just started volunteering,” she said. “I just wanted to give back to the community that has given so much to me.”
With the rising prices and coming out of the government shutdown, however, she’s seen the food bank go through its challenges.
“In all my years of volunteering…. I’ve never seen so many people come through the food pantry in need of everything,” Seeley said.
Program director Eli Shackelford said they felt the impact during the shutdown and are still feeling it after.
“Demand definitely picked up. It was like 40% higher, 30 to 40% higher,” he said. "It's evened back out a little bit. We're probably at 10 to 15% higher traffic inside of our stores than usual.”
That increase in demand has carried into Thanksgiving.
“We did 1,800 turkeys the last couple days,” Shackelford said. “This is more than we've ever done. I think we were 1,400 last year.”
They are relying on the community’s donations now more than ever.
“For a little while, we were scrambling,” Shackelford said. “Our community has been amazing. People really showed up as soon as they heard there was a need.”
Clients get the opportunity to shop in the food bank, which is being managed carefully this year.
“We have a finite supply of food, even here, even in a city that's generous, so we are always calculating what we have in our warehouse and making sure that we have food available for people all day long, every day, which is why we do have limits on some items,” Shackelford said.
They say it’s important for all families to have food on the table this year, no matter where they come from.
“Food security is such a big issue,” Shackelford said. "We want to make sure that kids don't go hungry in Wasatch and Summit County. We don't want parents worrying about what to feed their kids.”
“Everybody is so appreciative, and I've had people come through that will get food and take what they need, and they're in tears when they're leaving,” Seeley said. “There has been times where I've sat in my car after my volunteer shift and just cried.”
Food bank hours and turkey giveaways will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Wednesday this week, and they will be closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
For more information, visit ccofpc.org.
