Effort is part of an interfaith community effort to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB), Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church (MZMBC), and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) have partnered to address food insecurity throughout Alameda County.
A semi-truckload of food will arrive in Oakland on Tuesday, July 21st. It is one of 250 trucks the LDS church is sending throughout the United States. By the end of the year 10 million pounds of food will have been donated. Each truck carries approximately 40,000 pounds of shelf-stable pantry staples that can feed 1,400 families for one week.
The need for food is significant. According to the ACCFB, one in four members of the community they serve is experiencing or at risk of hunger. Event organizers share a commitment to caring for those in need and fostering meaningful service connections within communities.
“Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in following the Savior’s commandments to love God and to love our neighbor,” says David Kimball, President of the Oakland Stake of the LDS church. “We are grateful to partner with these organizations to help care for those in need in our community.”
Welcoming the truck’s arrival at 10:00 a.m. at MZMBC will be President Kimball, ACCFB Executive Director Regi Young, Pastor Michael Wallace of MZMBC, Civil Rights Activist and Post News Group Publisher Paul Cobb. Mayor Barbara Lee will be in attendance, and music will be provided by members of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir.
Teens from both churches will be on hand to assist with loading food items for various local nonprofits and community groups to distribute to those in need. The teens will also assemble a thousand hygiene kits for the unhoused. Each kit will include a note of encouragement written by the children and youth of each church.
Groups slated to receive food include:
- Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church
- ECAP (Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program)
- Support Life Foundation/Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC)
- Serenity House
- CRECE (Central American Refugee Committee)
- ION (Impact Oakland Now -West Oakland Church Group)
- True Faith (East Oakland Church)
Two days later, on July 23, another semi-truck, this one bearing fresh milk from the LDS church, will arrive at the ACCFB.
“These two large shipments of food and milk, along with this interfaith, community event, exemplify the spirit of volunteerism and community service that this country was built on,” says Gregg Ankenman, Assistant Director – Community Service, Oakland/San Francisco Communication Council of the LDS Church.