Salt Lake City Bailliage Gives the Gift of Food

By Sue Geary, Vice Charge’ de Presse, FWS, IWS, SWS

The Salt Lake City Bailliage’s current Board of Directors--installed in July--has yet to hold an in-person event.  Yet, out of necessity and with a good deal of pluck, we have found new ways of bringing our members together by offering a variety of activities.  For the months of November and December, in lieu of dinners we opted for events with minimal cost and for modest registration fees with the goal of generating a cash donation for a charitable cause.  Vice Echanson Kasey Dubler masterfully prepared and conducted both events: a Beaujolais and Thanksgiving Wines Class and a Champagne Brunch.

We have felt an urgency to find a way of giving to our community.  As we have watched the cumulative effects of a growing and sustained pandemic, we have mourned the closures of many local restaurants and the resulting loss of jobs among the culinary work force.  For the broader community, this pandemic has only intensified the shocking disparity between those who have enough and those with far too little.  School closures and after-school program suspensions have disrupted this critical source of weekday meals for children and youth.  The economic ripple has stressed food budgets for hard-working parents who have lost employment with more families than ever experiencing food insecurity. For these reasons, the Board voted to direct the funds we raised to the Utah Food Bank, where every dollar donated generates another eight dollars. 

The Utah Food Bank, founded in 1904, has been a critical source of food for many families. According to Executive Director, Ginette Bott, the pandemic of 2020 “caused hunger on a scale we’ve never seen before.” The need has increased by 160,000 Utahns, and the number of children experiencing food insecurity has grown from 1 in 7 to 1 in 5. In response, Utah Food Bank increased its mobile pantries by 113% and provided 474,000 meals for kids.

We are extremely proud of our members and friends for their generosity by which we raised  $1,000. The $8,000 our donation generates will provide meals for 40,000 individuals.  We look forward to holding more events for charitable giving in this new year.

Bott, G. A Look Back at 2020, January 1, 2021. utahfoodbank.org.