Serving hundreds of families, the food pantry at St. Joseph the Worker is filled with camaraderie

Friday, Dec. 19, 2014

WEST JORDAN — Over the past five years, Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in South Jordan went from helping 25 families per month to helping more than 140 families per week through their food pantry.

 ”This has really exploded,” said Dennis Bramble, who took over the parish’s food pantry five years ago, after he retired.

Although the food pantry is open to the public only three hours per week, its operations run all week long.

The second and fourth Friday of every month the Utah Food Bank delivers six to seven pallets of food, “and every Tuesday afternoon we get what is called Rosary Rescue, which is a group of people that go to the different grocery stores and pick up food that is about to expire, damaged cans and damaged food,” said Bramble.

Those donations symbolize another six to seven pallets of food that the volunteers at the food pantry sort through, he said.

Each of the pantry’s volunteers has a specific task.

“One of them said that she wants to be on the inside of the pantry and store what needs to be stored, another said she wanted to be in the front giving the food to the people, another wanted to sort the food in the boxes, one more wanted to organize,” said Bramble. 

The 10 volunteers work together to accomplish their mission so that in the 90 minutes they are open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the food pantry can serve about 90 families, said Bramble.

Saint Joseph the Worker parishioners also play a very important role for the food pantry. All of their donations are matched by an anonymous person. “So for example, if we get 20 cans from the parishioners, she will donate 20 more,” said Bramble.

 Although the donor is anonymous, Bramble is very grateful to her.

“We don’t know who she is, only the administration of the parish knows. She has been giving around $400 a month in the matching, and it has been fantastic. This woman is a saint,” he said.

To receive help, the food pantry patrons just need to fill out a brief form from the Utah Food Bank about the number of people in the family and their ages, and have a picture identification.

The Saint Joseph the Worker food pantry gives a box  filled with items such as cereal, canned food, canned vegetables, pasta, sauces and juices, to those who are in need.

Occasionally, the food pantry is able to give out meat.

“Last week we had a truck that didn’t want all the product ... The manufacturer didn’t want it any more so I received a phone call from this truck company” that donated the cases of chicken, said Bramble.

Volunteers and donations are welcome at the food pantry, which is open to those in need.

“No matter their religion, no matter their need, if they need the food, that’s what we are here for,” said Bramble.

The Food Pantry of Saint Joseph the Worker is located at 7405 South Redwood Road in West Jordan.