Food insecurity is a national concern that often goes unnoticed.

THE United States Department of Agriculture reports that 86.5% of households, or approximately 114.6 million households, were food secure throughout 2023. Additionally, 82.1% of households with children, or 29.7 million, were food secure in 2023.

In Summit County alone, 10 percent of all households are food insecure, and at the same time, 13 percent of the county’s children are food insecure, according to statistics provided by the Christian Center of Park City, said Becca Lael, Park City Library Manager. events and advertising.

“That’s one in ten people who come to the library,” she said. “It’s a lot.”
To help combat food insecurity during the holiday season, the Municipal park library will organize a food drive from November 1 to 30 to Park City Christian CenterIt is pantryLael said.

“The collection bin will be installed right at our entrance, as soon as you enter. Lucky Cafe“, she said. “People can drop off donations any time the library or Lucky Ones is open.”

Although the library accepts food donations of all kinds, the Park City Christian Center is particularly in need of the following:

• Canned tuna and chicken
• Peanut butter
• Macaroni and cheese
• Individual servings of fruit
• Cooking oil
• Spices
• Canned soup
• Infant formula
• Baby food jars

In addition to food, the Park City Library will also accept these essential items:

• Adult diapers and diapers
• Menstrual care products

The Park City Library’s partnership with the Park City Christian Center for a food drive dates back to when the library collected fines for overdue books, Lael said.

“We would forgive their fines if they donated food,” she said. “And when we removed the fines in 2018, we still wanted to participate in the food drive. Once we did that, the food drives were more successful.

Each year, the community donates enough food to fill two cars, Lael said.

“When I talk about two cars full, I’m talking about the front seats, all of the back seats and the trunks,” she said. “It’s crazy and completely unbelievable to see people participating in the food drive. »

The amount of donations reflects the amount of care community members show each other, according to Lael.

“We are so lucky to live in a community where people not only attend our events,” she said, “but they also do little things like help each other on the computers. So participating in food drives like this shows how much our community cares about humanity.

“Because we don’t provide the direct services that the Park City Christian Center does, it’s very important for us to be part of the community and show care for our clients,” Lael said. “The food drive is very important to the library because we have a lot of patrons who are food insecure. Sometimes they reveal it to us, and sometimes they don’t, so we’re very happy to be able to host a food drive every year for the Christian Center.

Food Drive for Park City Christian Center

• When: November 1 to 30
• Where: Park City Library and Lucky Ones Coffee, 1255 Park Ave.
• Internet: tinyurl.com/mrypbk48