Deb Ramsay, Christine Christensen, Truck Driver Troy Tanner, Mike Thomas, Jim Brett, Paula Finnerty, Rick Doane, Jonathan Tetrault, Chris George, Andrea Cook, Sharon Smith, Brian Hurley and Mark Scott. Seth Daniel photo
Three organizations combined to deliver 60,000 pounds of non-perishable foods from Utah to needy families at Dorchester’s Mary Ann Brett Food Pantry last week.
The donation represents six months’ worth of stock for the pantry based inside St. Margaret Church on Columbia Road.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Brett Food Pantry, and Work, Inc. on Freeport Street combined in the unloading effort on Friday morning.
The delivery marked the fourth time that food has come from Utah to Dorchester on a semi-truck. It was one of the 250 trucks delivering food to locations across the United States this year, and one of three coming to Massachusetts.
“I like to say the Church of Latter-day Saints are the best Catholics because they have supported us so often and so generously,” said Jim Brett, who helps coordinate the pantry every Saturday with his wife Patti. “This has been a Godsend for us.”
Brett noted that the need is growing. When the pantry opened a few years ago it served 40 families per week and now the number is 160 families. He said in one case a reliable donor has turned into a neighbor in need.
Mike Thomas, right, of the Mormon Church, spoke about the food delivery shortly after the semi-truck arrived on Freeport Street on Friday. Jim Brett, of the Mary Ann Brett Food Pantry at St. Margaret’s Church, stood by. Seth Daniel photo
“We have a neighbor who donated $100 to us, and we don’t know what happened – a health issue or job loss – but now he’s in line and needs help,” said Brett. “It’s an example of what can happen to anybody.”
Representatives from the Mormon Church and Work, Inc. – which stores the food for the pantry – gathered in Work, Inc.’s parking lot in Clam Point on Friday shortly after the semi-truck full of food arrived from a warehouse in Salt Lake City.
Michael Thomas, an elder in the church and also the president of the New England Board of Higher Education, said he and Brett have known each other professionally for many years.
And Work, Inc.’s Andrea Cook said the organization often volunteers at the pantry and heard of the need for space to store the donated items.
“I like to call this a big tent moment with a lot of people from different backgrounds coming together,” Thomas said. “The need for food is growing unfortunately. No one person or organization is the puzzle; everyone needs to be a piece of the puzzle to help friends and neighbors.
“The Brett Food Pantry and our church try to push beyond our members to support neighbors and friends, and even those without a faith background, to lighten the load.”
Deb Ramsay and Christine Christensen, both members of the Mormon Church, said the food comes from the many ranches and farms that the church owns and operates around the country – from Florida to Idaho to Utah, where the church has its headquarters.
The church grows the food, cans it or dehydrates it, and uses it to serve their congregations. The same goes for the meat they raise on ranches, which is frozen.
“Every year there’s a surplus, and this is the surplus here,” said Ramsay, pointing to the truck. “What we do with our surplus is send it to cities in great need with food insecurity…We’re good at producing the food and delivering it, but we’re not connected to many of the communities closely and rely on partners to identify these places.”
She noted that in June, Catholic Charities in Dorchester will be getting a delivery as well, as part of the 250th effort to mark Juneteenth.
