WEST JORDAN, Utah — People have been stepping up to stock a West Jordan community pantry after the woman behind it shared a letter from someone upset with what she was doing in their neighborhood.
"The love has been a lot louder than the hate for sure,” said Kennedy Strong, who started a pantry in her condominium complex, outside the clubhouse, to help her neighbors. "The reason I started this was because so many people are on fixed incomes in my community."
NORTHERN UTAH
Disheartening letter condemning community pantry doesn't stop West Jordan woman
A few days after she started the pantry, Strong said someone put a letter on her sign, calling her pantry “wrong.” She reached out to the church next door and got their permission to move the pantry to their street corner.
Strong said the bishop told her that "there are immediate needs in our community, in our congregation, that need help right now,” so they wanted to help.
Ben Watson stopped by Saturday morning to help stock the pantry.
"When we read that the food pantry had been moved here, we were going shopping this morning, so figured we're close enough, it’s easy to get some food and drop it off," Watson said.
Strong said that as a single mom, she wanted to help others. But needs the community’s help to keep the pantry stocked.
"I had the thought, 'Oh my gosh, what if it was me? What if it was my baby losing his entire grocery budget for the month and I couldn’t feed him?'” said Strong.
"If somebody is doing everything they can and they just can’t make it, especially when it comes to food, there are resources that people can reach out to, like this one, and hopefully that will make it easier, rather than harder for people to get help,” added Watson.
He said he knows what it’s like to need help and wants to pay it forward.
“My wife and I have had that situation where we needed somebody's help, so if we can help out, even if it’s a little thing, just buying some eggs or tuna, we're going to do that,” he said.
Strong is asking people to donate money to the Utah Food Bank because they can make a dollar stretch further. But if you have items in your pantry you would like to give away, she has room for them.
"Whether it’s political or not that causes it, that doesn’t matter,” said Watson. “The situation is that people are hungry and kids are hungry, and we need to help."
For anyone who needs a meal or wants to donate one, the pantry is along 1300 West between Winchester St. and Brewski Bay, outside the West Jordan River Stake Center.
