“I know how charitable the people of the Central Valley are, and also how patriotic we are,” said Logan Lawrence, president of the Fresno stake for the Latter-day Saints, in an interview. “This kind of captures both of those components into one, and it’s a way of giving back to the community that has given so much to so many of us.”
Attendees lined up and cheered for the arrival of the truck that hauled the goods, and after some pallets were unloaded, volunteers from Catholic Charities and community service organization Just Serve began packing bags full of supplies to be distributed later. In the leadup to the donation day, youth volunteers decorated the bags to give them a more personal touch.
Lucy Brown, communications director for the Latter-day Saints’ Fresno stake, told the Mid Valley Times that a big reason she was excited to partner with Catholic Charities was because of the organization’s wide reach across the Valley, and especially within rural communities.
Though Catholic Charities only has brick and mortar locations in Fresno, Bakersfield and Merced, they also keep a steady schedule of food distribution events in cities like Parlier, Kingsburg, Lindsay, Mendota and many more.