More than 100,000 pounds of produce distributed in Moses Lake on Saturday
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 5 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Missionaries, church members and volunteers came out to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday to help with the distribution of nearly 5,600 boxes of produce.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Pallets of produce boxes lining the distribution line were quickly broken down and distributed as nearly 5,600 boxes of produce were given away Saturday morning in Moses Lake.
Mario Padilla, with the help of some young volunteers, made multiple stops to fill his truck bed with boxes of produce on Saturday morning, delivering the boxes to various neighborhoods and communities.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Lines of cars arrive at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moses Lake on Saturday morning.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Cars line up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints parking lot in Moses Lake on Saturday as boxes of produce are distributed for free.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Christine Lybbert chats with Beka Mardis as some young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints help load her car with boxes of produce on Saturday morning in Moses Lake.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Jonathan Roueche, bottom left, and Sarah Dale help Mario Padilla load his truck with boxes on Saturday. Padilla made multiple trips through the line as he delivered truckloads of produce to various neighborhoods.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Brent Jones, Kasey Coulson and Cathryn Jones load a truck with 20-pound boxes of produce, thanks to Chelan Fresh and the USDA’s Farmers to Families program.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Left to right, volunteers Daylan Callahan, Jonathan Roueche, Brent Jones and Raccardo Pivan try to fit as many boxes into the back of a car as they can Saturday morning, with many people who stopped by offering to distribute boxes in their own families and neighborhoods.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Left to right, volunteers Amber Johnson, Raccardo Pivan, Sarah Dale and Brent Jones help distribute boxes of produce at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moses Lake on Saturday morning.
MOSES LAKE — Nearly 5,600 20-pound boxes of produce were distributed Saturday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 1515 S. Division St. in Moses Lake. Produce was packaged and supplied by Chelan Fresh through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program.
Boxes contained three 3-pound bags of apples, provided by Chelan Fresh, an 8-pound bag of potatoes and a 3-pound bag of onions, provided by Easterday Farms. The church was able to distribute all three tractor-trailer loads of produce by just after noon on Saturday.
The USDA program, announced on April 17, has the department partner with local, regional and national suppliers significantly impacted by COVID-19. The USDA would purchase $461 million in fresh fruit and vegetables to then be packaged and distributed to food banks, community and faith-based organizations and other non-profits.
Eric Sauer, an export sales assistant with Chelan Fresh, said he’s worked closely with the USDA on the new program. Sauer has been reaching out to nonprofits around the country to set up receiving.
“The USDA put it out as a way to help both communities who are affected by the COVID-19 situation, as well as the farmers, so it’s a really good mutually beneficial program,” Sauer said. “The USDA’s paying for the boxes, and the community is benefiting as well.”
Sauer said the process has been a little hectic due to how fast everything’s been moving, but he added it hasn’t been hard to find food banks and non-profits to take product.
Last week, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wenatchee handled the distribution, passing out more than 5,000 boxes in less than three and a half hours.
“It’s amazing,” Sauer said. “It feels good to be a part of a program, and then when it was so local and I was able to see it with my own eyes, it was that much more impactful.”
Sauer said they’re interested in looking to expanding to a few more distribution sites in the coming weeks. Pulling these things off would be impossible without the help of the volunteers and non-profits, he added.
“We couldn’t have the capacity to set up these drops, to set up these community events,” Sauer said. “That’s really where the non-profits play a huge role. It’s because they’re the ones setting them out, and they’re the ones distributing, and it’s super helpful.”
Dennis Draleau, a public affairs director with the Moses Lake stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said they were able to have a wide network of distribution at the church Saturday morning thanks to people who offered to distribute in their neighborhoods and with friends.
“It’s just wonderful to see,” Draleau said. “This food is just sitting there, so it’s nice to be able to distribute it into these communities, especially our community that has a lot of people that are not well off and can use it,” Draleau said.
A large number of volunteers came through justserve.org, a free website sponsored by the LDS church to promote volunteering opportunities. Other volunteers came from the church community in addition to a large group of young missionaries from around the Moses Lake area. A local LDS church leader issued a statement on the food distribution effort over the weekend.
“The Savior said, ‘Come, follow me,’” said Moses Lake Stake President Ryan Tolley. “As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we strive to follow his perfect example of love and service. It was a great opportunity and blessing for us to partner with Chelan Fresh in distributing the produce to our friends and neighbors. We look forward to participating again.”
Draleau said his counterpart at the church’s stake in Wenatchee got in touch with him and his wife, Pat Draleau, before their distribution the prior weekend to see if they’d be interested in taking part.
After waking up to the sounds of thunder and lightning on Saturday morning, Draleau said, they were worried about the boxes. Thankfully, he added, the clouds made for lower temperatures and, other than needing to sit a few boxes aside to dry out, didn’t have any issues.
Draleau said they’re preparing to host the produce distribution again on June 13 and June 27, with hopes of possibly expanding to Ephrata.
