PROVO, Utah — Faced with a growing community need outpacing financial reserves, Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo (CASFB) needs to raise $100,000 by the end of this month to keep its essential services running.
“Every month since June, we have seen the number of new families increase,” said Jessica Miller, CASFB’s chief impact officer. “Last month, that was 134 new families.”
Miller added that’s just the most recent view of a broader pattern of need that’s grown in the area over the past five years.
Community Action Services Food Bank in Provo doubles capacity amid rising demand:
About two years ago, Antonio Gonzalez was one of those new faces.
“Before I got hired here, I was lost in my addiction for 15 years,” said Gonzalez. He says navigating their resources put him back on the right track.
“They got me a hotel room so I could go do an interview,” Gonzalez shared. “They helped me get the strength to go do courses to become a peer-certified support specialist. I got my children back now that I have housing.”
But last week, the organization realized they were in an ‘immediate cash-flow crisis’ after its reserves fell to a level that couldn’t sustain operations.
“When the board came to see the full picture of the financial shortfall, they made immediate action in changing leadership,” said Miller.
That included a change in the chief executive position, where new interim CEO Caitlin Rangel will take over for Tom Hogan. The organization said it also recruited community leaders with financial and operational expertise in Val Hale and Sheldon Miner.
They’re now forging ahead to protect the services they offer.
“Our community has relied on Community Action for generations, and right now Community Action is relying on our community,” Rangel said.
“We have reached out to Utah County, and they are helping us so that we’re able to open the warming center on November 1,” Miller explained.
Gonzalez knows what the alternative can mean for those who depend on it.
“If it wasn’t for Community Action, I’d be out in the street in the cold,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez hopes that help comes back to this organization in its time of need.
“We’re just like a regular business — we have to pay our staff, we have to pay our rent, we have to keep the lights on,” Miller said. “It’s heartbreaking, because I know that - should we close, there’s so many families that wouldn’t have the resources to be putting food on the table for their kids.”
If you’d like to support Community Action at this time, you can visit their website here to learn more about their mission.