From left, Jean Fairbanks, President of the Relief Society for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jamestown, New York Stake, stands alongside Jessica Velasco, Executive Chef, and Cherie Rowland, Executive Director of St. Susan Center. Together, they are surrounded by 25 pallet skids carrying a total of 30,000 pounds of food and items donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints based in Salt Lake City, Utah. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is delivering again for the St. Susan Center – literally .

A semi-truck delivered its cargo to the St. Susan Center, 31 Water St., #130, after completing the trip from Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated 30,000 pounds of food and goods to the soup kitchen, which also functions as a resupply hub for more than 10 food pantries in the area. The pantries, as previously reported by The Post-Journal, have faced challenges in maintaining their inventory.

“This is a wonderful gift.” said Cherie Rowland, executive director of the St. Susan Center. “I’m excited to connect with our food pantries and share this generosity with them.”

This marks the second occasion when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah, has dispatched a wave of food and essential provisions to the Jamestown area.

“We applied for it, and we got it again,” said Sam Ognibene, a member of the Jamestown Latter-day Saints church and the Jamestown New York Stake Clerk.

“This is part of one of Jesus Christ’s commandments,” said Jean Fairbanks, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Jamestown, New York Stake, Relief Society, President. “To love thy neighbor.”

According to information from churchofjesuschrist.org and sltrib.com, the Latter-day Saints have contributed more than 32 million pounds of food from bishops’ storehouses to humanitarian organizations and food banks across the United States and Canada. In addition to this, the church runs various food-related initiatives, including the Member-Focused Child Nutrition Effort. In 2023, the leadership in Salt Lake City doled out more than $1.3 billion in aid, facilitated 6.2 million volunteer hours, engaged in over 4,119 individual projects, and provided job placement assistance to more than 5,538 individuals.

Fairbanks said that this shipment included 25 pallet skids, carrying a total of 30,000 pounds of various items such as rice, beans, dish soap, salsa, pinto beans, cream of mushroom soup, diced tomatoes, white flour, potato flakes, powdered milk, penne, macaroni and cheese, pudding, hot cocoa mix, peanut butter, and more.

“I can stretch this and make it go a long way – it’s a blessing,” said Jessica Velasco, St. Susan executive chef.

According to a May 1, 2024, article in the Post-Journal, the local LDS church provides ongoing support to individuals, organizations, and those in need. The community of Jamestown has benefited from this assistance on more than one occasion.

In 2024, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a significant contribution of 40,000 pounds of food to the St. Susan Center, with Ognibene serving as the conductor during that period – a role he still seems to embrace.

“For the past couple of years, I’ve helped Keith Martin with his holiday food drive – Stuff the Truck – plus Cherie is a Falconer graduate, as I am, and we’ve got to stick together,” Ognibene said. “The only requirement (from Salt Lake City) was we had to have a loading dock, forklifts, and be able to unload the truck. I’m thrilled to be a part of this, and 40 years and 40,000 pounds of food – that’s remarkable.”