Sandy, Utah AND Vernal, Utah — The Miracle of Agriculture Foundation today announced it will hold its fourth Farmers Feeding Utah Miracle Project this Friday, September 25 from 5—7 p.m. at Western Park in Vernal, Utah.
The Miracle of Agriculture Foundation was formed in May 2020 by the leadership of the Utah Farm Bureau Foundation as a way to support agricultural producers in Utah and simultaneously help poor and underprivileged families in the state.
“Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact families, individuals and organizations throughout the state,” said Clayton Beckstead, executive director of the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation. “After researching the matter and consulting with our partners, we felt it was time to hold our fourth Farmers Feeding Utah Miracle Project — this one in Vernal, Utah.”
Miracle Project Uinta Basin will take place this Friday (September 25), from 5—7 p.m. at the Western Park in Vernal, Utah. Over 800 families from Vernal and the surrounding area are expected to receive food items through this Miracle of Agriculture Foundation event on Friday.
FOOD INSECURITY IN UTAH
Tens of thousands of Utahns have lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently signed up for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance, and many of these individuals live in Duchesne and Uintah Counties. Additionally, with the related decline in fuel demand, many energy companies with facilities in Vernal and/or eastern Utah have had to cut-back operations, greatly impacting the many families working in that industry. {NOTE: Approximately 15 percent of the Vernal population live below the “poverty line.”}
“We’re more than six months into this devastating pandemic, and Utah’s farmers and families continue to feel the impact” said Ron Gibson, Utah Farm Bureau president. “The economy of eastern Utah and jobs in the energy sector have been hit especially hard, so we knew it was time to ‘grow another miracle.’ Thankfully, Utahns were incredibly generous and stepped up to the challenge on the earlier Miracle Projects, and I’m confident we’ll rise to meet this challenge as well.”
Farmers Feeding Utah is a campaign of the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that was set up as the charitable arm of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Additional logistical and in-kind support for its efforts have come from many invaluable partners, including Utah State University and its Hunger Solutions Institute, the Utah Department of Agriculture & Food, The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Farm Bureau Financial Services.
“By serving a community in the Uinta Basin, the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation is able to react quickly to the economic conditions in the area and connect families and individuals in need with healthy food choices from Utah farms,” said Heidi LeBlanc, Director of the Hunger Solutions Institute at USU. “The Foundation, Farm Bureau, Utah State University and other partners, donors and volunteers are inspiring public confidence and support in American agriculture and meeting hunger needs at the same time.”
Donations to the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation for its Farmers Feeding Utah projects are used to purchase, process, and deliver food to families in need, giving both struggling farmers and Utah families a hand up.
“As harm drags on, more and more families need help: both farm families and our neighbors struggling with Food Insecurity,” Beckstead said. “With the help of donors and businesses, we’ve been able to rise to the challenge so far, but we need their help again now.”
Since May 2020, struggling Utah families in the Navajo Nation, northern Utah, West Salt Lake County, and Ogden (as well as to smaller community food pantries throughout the Wasatch Front), have received more than 500,000 lbs. of food donations (valued at over $500,000) through the Farmers Feeding Utah campaigns of the Foundation.
ABOUT THE MIRACLE OF AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION
The Miracle of Agriculture Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable 501(c)(3) corporation that was established by the leadership of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation to support the ag producers of Utah and serve poor / underprivileged families in the state. Since its founding in May 2020, the Foundation has raised nearly $500,000, monies used to purchase and process food products at wholesale prices directly from farmers and ranchers, with these foodstuffs then donated to struggling families in Utah. For more information about the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation, please visit www.MiracleOfAg.org.
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CONTACTS:
Miracle of Agriculture Foundation
Clayton Beckstead, Executive Director, Miracle of Agriculture Foundation, cbeckstead@MiracleOfAg.org
or
David Politis, Politis Communications, 801-556-8184(c), me@davidpolitis.com
AND
Utah Farm Bureau Federation
Matt Hargreaves, 801-233-3003(w), 801-455-4320(c), matt.hargreaves@fbfs.com
AND
USU’s Hunger Solutions Institute
Heidi LeBlanc, 435-797-3923(w), heidi.leblanc@usu.edu