Thanksgiving might not be as big of a feast for Salt Lake City’s growing number of impoverished families, but some students are trying to make it the best it can be.
For the past five years, June Hiatt, a junior in economics and sociology and vice president of the Bennion Community Service Center, has joined her mother in helping serve a warm Thanksgiving dinner to families in need at the Greek Orthodox Church in downtown Salt Lake City. The dinner is served from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a “first-come, first-serve basis,” Hiatt said, with about 2,000 people being served in the past years.
They aren’t alone. Crossroads Urban Center, a local nonprofit that helps poor Utahns meet their basic needs, is also hosting a turkey dinner Wednesday at the Indian Walk-In Center from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The center hopes to serve turkey and other Thanksgiving foods to 3,700 families, said Gina Cornia, executive director of Utahns Against Hunger. The Utah Food Bank is on track to gather 1.6 million pounds of food and 28,000 turkeys, which will be distributed to 125 agencies and pantries statewide, said Jessica Pugh, a spokeswoman for the Utah Food Bank.
Although Thanksgiving is a day of food and gratefulness, Hiatt said it is important for students to be aware that people need not only food, but also warm clothing, blankets, hygiene products and a roof above their heads.
“Nothing makes you feel better at the end of the day than a fresh pair of socks and a warm meal,” Hiatt said.
One in eight families in Salt Lake County live through the struggles of poverty, said Linda Hilton, community hours coordinator of Crossroads Urban Center.
“The state of Utah has had the highest growth in food stamp cases than anywhere in the country,” Cornia said.
Food stamp cases have risen 52 percent since last September, Pugh said. There has also been a 35 percent increase in demand for food assistance, she said.
The growth of poverty comes as result of being in a financial recession because people see cutbacks on their hours and commissions, and sometimes even lose their jobs, Hilton said.
The economic turndown is forcing families to stretch financial decisions, Pugh said.
The key to fighting hunger lies in understanding why hunger exists. A person in need of food can be served a hot meal or given food stamps, clothes or other forms of assistance, but it doesn’t solve the problem of hunger, Hiatt said. Help is very important, but ultimately it takes much more to oust the problem8212;a lack of jobs and English deficiency are problems that need to be defeated before hunger can be overcome, she said.
“Every donation counts,” Pugh said. “No matter how big or small, it makes a difference.”