The food supply at Be Concerned is looking a lot better than it did just a few days ago. That’s the difference that a semi-trailer full of food – 18 pallets, 26,000+ pounds in all – can make.
The food was donated by the Cincinnati Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and arrived Tuesday after a journey of nearly 1,600 miles from the church’s Utah Bishop’s Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City. The church also paid shipping costs. (In the LDS structure, a stake is comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church.)
Timing of the donation could not have been better. In part, that’s because summer is typically the slowest time of the year for food donations to Covington-based Be Concerned, the largest hunger-fighting agency in Northern Kentucky.
Summer is also “when the summertime meal gap is just starting to strain families, with school-aged children no longer getting subsidized breakfast and/or lunch,” said Be Concerned Executive Director Andy Brunsman. “This donation will help Be Concerned stay well-stocked as it expects to serve more than 2,220 families each month this summer.”
The shipment included staples like canned vegetables and fruit, flour, rice, pasta, shelf stable and powdered milk, and raisins. Also donated was one non-food item: liquid dish soap.
Be Concerned has had a relationship with the LDS Cincinnati Stake for several years. The agency was among charities in the church’s Light the World fundraiser at the Kenwood Mall during the 2023 Christmas season. And last summer Be Concerned received a smaller shipment of food from an LDS warehouse in Indianapolis, and a grant to purchase new coolers and freezers for its food pantry.
“Be Concerned is a tremendous organization that does a tremendous amount of good in Northern Kentucky,” said Brady Lighthall, president of the Cincinnati LSD Stake. “It’s well-established, well-known and well-organized. That makes it an obvious place for people (who need help) to go.”
Some of the food in Tuesday’s delivery came from LDS-owned orchards, ranches and farms, he said, part of an extensive LDS agricultural operation. That helps the church do food donations across the U.S., aimed at people in the greatest need.
“We strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ, and live the 2 Great Commandments: to love God and to love our neighbors,” Lighthall said.
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