{"id":450133,"date":"2026-09-28T13:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/450133\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:42:11","slug":"how-the-church-is-working-as-the-savior-would-to-feed-the-hungry-church-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/450133\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Church is working as the Savior would to feed the hungry \u2013 Church News"},"content":{"rendered":"

As 40,000 pounds of food were delivered to Cedar Park, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were there to help unload the food from a semitruck. <\/p>\n

The food came all the way from the Bishops\u2019 Storehouse in Salt Lake City to feed families in need. The volunteers worked outside the Austin Texas Temple<\/a>, which is under construction in Cedar Park. <\/p>\n

Before the food even arrived, members of the Cedar Park Texas Stake, Round Rock Texas Stake and Round Rock Texas East Stake were tasked with finding food pantries in the community to donate the food to. They ended up building connections with 11 total food pantries and community organizations, who each brought their own trucks and vehicles to pick up the food and take it back to distribute.<\/p>\n

\"Latter-dayLatter-day Saint volunteers work outside the under-construction Austin Texas Temple as they unload 40,000 pounds of food donated by the Church to go to local food pantries in Cedar Park, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. | Kelli Wright <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what community service is all about \u2014 coming together to lift others and meet a real need in our community,\u201d said Betsy Lowe, JustServe communication director for the Round Rock Texas Stake. \u201cForty thousand pounds of food represents thousands of meals and an opportunity for these local organizations to continue the important work they are already doing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout 2026, as the United States celebrates its 250th year,<\/a> The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has celebrated with the donation of 250 food trucks donated to 250 food banks across the country. <\/p>\n

Just like in Cedar Park, at many locations as the food arrived, Latter-day Saints stood side by side with neighbors and friends to unload, pack and distribute the food. <\/p>\n

\"PalletsPallets full of donated food from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are unloaded outside the under-construction Austin Texas Temple for volunteers to sort through it for local food pantries in Cedar Park, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. | Betsy Lowe <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been commissioned by Jesus Christ to feed the hungry,\u201d said Adrienne Finch, a JustServe volunteer in Cedar Park. \u201cThis initiative is a way to accomplish that and provide relief for those who are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Latter-day Saints use the JustServe<\/a> platform, a free online platform created by the Church to connect volunteers with charitable and nonprofit organizations worldwide. JustServe is available online at justserve.org and on the JustServe app (Apple<\/a>, Android).<\/a> <\/p>\n

Why service matters<\/p>\n

For LaDawn Stoddard, JustServe senior strategic relationships manager, the service done this year as part of America250 has made a real difference in communities by bringing people together. <\/p>\n

\"LaDawnLaDawn Stoddard, JustServe senior strategic relationships manager, joins the Church News podcast episode released Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. | Ellie Lewis, Deseret News <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do with JustServe, is help allow service to solve some of those issues in our communities,\u201d she said on an episode<\/a> of the Church News podcast. <\/p>\n

Stoddard said the food donations in particular have helped tackle food insecurity, an issue that is often unseen. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a significant issue that I think resonates with people,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I think all of us can understand because at some point we\u2019ve all maybe not been extremely hungry but have had to skip a meal and know what that looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

For members of the Church, serving in the community goes beyond even the community benefits. As they care for those in need, they strive to emulate the Savior, Jesus Christ, and follow His two great commandments to love God and love one\u2019s neighbor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis whole life was about service, everything that He did,\u201d Stoddard said. \u201cAnd as we serve, we start to develop a lot of Christlike attributes: compassion, understanding, love for those around us. \u2026 It\u2019s a long and lengthy list of things that you start to see in individuals and people as they serve.\u201d <\/p>\n

Stephen Bulpitt, JustServe global manager, said this year of caring for those in need has taught him that there\u2019s plenty of opportunities to be the Savior\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has taught me to not worry about my concerns but to really be like the Savior and emulate His light throughout the world,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as we do and we act as He did, we become more like Him. You see His light in those that are serving, and so you see disciples in the community living the way He did as they serve.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"StephenStephen Bulpitt, JustServe global manager, joins the Church News podcast episode released Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. | Ellie Lewis, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Stoddard said one of the goals of the JustServe platform is to help individuals have service \u201cbecome a way of life.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is a way of life, you don\u2019t immediately recognize that you\u2019re involved in service,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just something you naturally do.\u201d <\/p>\n

Looking forward, Stoddard said she hopes this year of service will set the standard for years to come. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe best is yet to come of really caring for those in need, being disciples of Jesus Christ in the community,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"JustServeJustServe volunteers at the San Antonio Food Bank in San Antonio, Texas, help sort food after a donation of food from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 22, 2026. | San Antonio Food Bank <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As 40,000 pounds of food were delivered to Cedar Park, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, local members of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72722,132,134,133],"class_list":["post-450133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-america-250","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}