About us

In late 2019, an article was published on KSL news reporting that the Sanpete Pantry was going to close. Several community members learned of the dire circumstances and decided to pitch in and do something to help. Jeff Jarman held the Pantry together during its toughest days! One community member, Jeff Wallace, reached out to Jarman and quickly joined the Pantry’s board of directors to help turn things around with many new gifted and dedicated board members. Over the course of the next few years, Wallace and the other new board members became more aware of the needs in the community. They learned that there are many children in Sanpete who have nothing to eat on the weekends, with reports that some children had resorted to eating paper in order to provide some relief to their aching stomachs. The Pantry became more strategic and effective in raising funds and serving the entire community, including the creation of the kid-packs program that provides weekend meals for Sanpete school children in need. By 2023, Wallace became convinced that the Pantry was increasingly effective in giving food to those in need but was not designed to help solve the root issues that caused some community members to experience food insecurity in the first place. In late 2023, Wallace became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Sanpete Pantry.

In early 2023, Jeff Wallace and his wife, Shauna, decided it was time to start the Sanpete Family Resource Center (SFRC) as a way to help meet some of the other needs in the community not currently being addressed. As an associate professor at Snow College, Wallace dedicated all of his extra time to developing a plan and getting to work. As fate would have it, Snow College announced in 2023 that it would be reviewing Sabbatical proposals from faculty members, something that had not existed for many years. Wallace prepared a proposal to spend a semester Sabbatical working on running the SFRC. Snow College graciously approved the proposal, and Wallace began his Sabbatical work in January 2024.

In order to address some issues related to income insecurity and Food insecurity, Wallace developed a simple plan to create a comprehensive database of product and service providers in Sanpete. We discovered that many people were traveling out of their town, and even out of the county, to purchase products and services that were unknowingly offered much closer to home. If we only knew what everyone offered, we could make much better decisions, save time and money, and strengthen our local economy! When our dollars are spent outside of the county, they rarely return. However, if we spend our dollars here, they can stay local, thus creating more jobs and local prosperity. We want dollars to come to Sanpete, not leave!

In addition to the creation of the database, many people are in need of other help. For example, some families lack transportation to access local resources. We discovered a disabled father and his son who live on the outskirts of Mount Pleasant with a devastating income problem. To add to their sorrow, their vehicle broke down, and they were unable to travel to job opportunities or even make it to the Sanpete Pantry to get food. We helped coordinate transportation options to help them access food, increase income, get their vehicle fixed, and get back on their feet! We found another gentleman living in his SUV, sleeping in the driver’s seat every night. Upon learning this, the SFRC was able to purchase a narrow RV mattress and build a custom bed frame to fit in the rear of the SUV in order to provide a more suitable sleeping arrangement. A small vehicle-compatible refrigerator was also acquired in order to provide the opportunity to store healthier foods in the SUV, which began to feel more like a small RV. It was one way to create a better living arrangement for a good gentleman in need of some assistance. While we can’t reach or help everyone, we can make a difference in the lives of some!

For Wallace, this has been a spiritual journey to come closer to God. He takes Matthew 25:40 seriously, which states, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Serving those who need help with obtaining food, healthcare, clothing, housing, and social support is serving God.

We invite all community members to become involved and volunteer. Some people simply need rides to appointments. Others need help getting food from the Pantry or clothing from the clothing resource bank. Some need friends who will sincerely ask them questions and form a desperately needed connection. We also invite you to consider donating a little money if you are able. The donations are tax-deductible, and 100% of the money is used to support our community members in need.

You can Venmo a tax-deductible donation to @SanpeteFRC

Or click the button below to make a tax-deductable donation with a card.