Posted by Staff
newsweb@everythinglubbock.com

LUBBOCK, TX (NEWS RELEASE) — A 26-foot truck packed with 9,610 cans of 16 different food items, ranging from soup, stew and chili to peanut butter, beef chunks, tuna, fruit and vegetables, will be unloaded at 1 p.m. Monday as part of the Summer of Sharing at the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock.

The Lubbock area stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requested the estimated $15,000 food donation from the church’s Bishop’s Storehouse in Carrolton, Texas, said Sterling T. Shumway, president of the Lubbock Texas Stake. This is the largest delivery in the five years the Bishops Storehouse has been sending food to the South Plains Food Bank.  The Dallas area Bishops Storehouse is one of the largest in the country, and the food is grown, processed and distributed by the LDS church.

“The neat thing about this delivery is that the South Plains Food Bank officials were provided with a list of commodities from which they could go through and choose the items that filled their greatest needs,” Shumway said. “We asked for more food this year because we felt like there was a greater need at the food bank.”

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, a second truckload of 50,000 pounds of potatoes will arrive at the South Plains Food Bank, and volunteers are needed to bag the spuds into 5-pound bags.

Monday’s delivery of 400 cases of food is the second of several events sponsored by the local congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Summer of Sharing started six years ago when local church members volunteered at the food bank and learned that summer food donations did not meet demand. Now the Summer of Sharing involves several Lubbock area businesses, churches, and community groups.

The kick off event of the Summer of Sharing was a Memorial Day Fun Run at Mackenzie Park. Despite being rained out, the Fun Run collected 3,642 pounds of food. Runners brought nonperishable food as their entry fee.

The public can donate to the food bank throughout the summer by going to any Lowe’s Market locations and purchasing a $5 bag of food. 

The final event will occur Monday, June 29, with food drop-offs at Lowe’s Market at 19th and Frankford. PlainsCapital Bank will provide hot dogs and drinks.

(Press release from  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lubbock)