Mountain America and Community Partners Spread Holiday Cheer with Food Donations in West Valley
Credit union members worked with other entities to distribute holiday dinners, food pantry items and winter clothing to more than 600 people
On December 16, 2022, more than 600 Salt Lake County residents received holiday dinners, food pantry items and winter clothing sponsored by Mountain America Credit Union, Univision 32, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, La Gatita Furniture Store and other local entities.
“For many people, the holiday season makes it especially difficult to stretch a budget for gifts and food,” said Parker Gift, a regional manager at Mountain America Credit Union who spearheaded the credit union’s involvement in the event. “As a people-first and community-driven financial institution, we joined forces with other entities to lighten the financial burdens so many people are facing now and to spread holiday cheer by giving back.”
Gift and other team members from surrounding Spanish-language branches arrived at La Gatita Furniture Store’s parking lot in West Valley City in the early morning to help set up tables, unpack and unload boxed food donations and winter clothing. Leading up to the food distribution event, volunteers formed an assembly line and filled red Mountain America and Univision-branded tote bags with items like frozen whole turkeys, canned sweet potatoes and boxed stuffing. For nearly two months, Univision 32, a Utah-based news station, promoted the fourth annual event and invited everyone to participate. Last year, 450 families and individuals received holiday dinners and with more community entities pitching in, the number of recipients grew by 150.
“Everything is so expensive for people in Utah and throughout the whole country,” said Pablito De La Rosa, a West Valley City resident and credit union member. De La Rosa and other family members learned about the food distribution event after seeing a news story about it on the local Univision 32 newscast.
“This help is very important for us and incredibly comforting as it lightens our burden. It’s wonderful that Mountain America helps us financially as well as with our subsistence needs,” he said.
Throughout the day, Mountain America and other partnering entities’ team members handed out hundreds of food-filled bags and winter clothing items to the event’s participants.
“Mountain America Credit Union and Univision are here working together and bringing good to the community, especially people with limited resources,” said Orlando Criado, a Univision 32 team member. “When different partners like this come together, the results are monumental.”
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