On March 27, local food pantry, Tabitha’s Way held a ribbon cutting for its new Spanish Fork location, showing gratitude for what the organization is deeming as its “next chapter” in a “journey to help neighbors struggling with food insecurity.”
The new building is located at 50 East 100 North in Spanish Fork, and is right across the street from the previous pantry.
Many community members and supporters of Tabitha’s Way, including Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidra Henderson, attended the ribbon cutting. Henderson spoke about raising her family in Spanish Fork as a single mother, and noted the struggles she faced trying to feed her family, while also highlighting the importance of programs like Tabitha’s Way.
“Our community is only as strong as the support that we show for the most vulnerable among us, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m so proud today to see the support, to see this building, to see the growth of this facility and this organization,” Henderson said in an address given at the ribbon cutting.
The new location that has been open since January has already received positive reviews, said co-founder and executive director Wendy Osborne.
“In our previous building, we had a detached warehouse and now we have all of our food in one location with a loading dock,” she explained. “The new location has a lot of operational efficiency so people can do the same work without having to work so hard. It has reduced the amount of lifting we had to do and made things faster and much more efficient. So in terms of our staff and volunteers, they absolutely love it, but what is really heartwarming is how much our clients have loved the space. It’s open, it’s well lit, it’s got lots of natural light. There’s more space for people to be able to come in and shop the pantry. It’s a much more dignified, respectful space, and our clients just love it. They feel very warm and welcome, and they can find the food that they need quickly. We’ve gotten a lot of really good feedback from our clients about how much they really like it.”
Osborne said that the new facility has been several years in the making, as the need for services like Tabitha’s Way have increased.
“Several years ago, we recognized that with population growth in Utah County, plus some of the other factors such as inflation and an increase in food insecurity, that we needed a larger facility,” she said. We had an opportunity to purchase the building across the street from us, and of the things that was amazing was that the building was one of the first grocery stores in Spanish Fork. And, what is a food pantry, but a grocery store, right? We operate a lot like a grocery store and needed a space that’s similar to that. And so it was really a perfect fit for us.”
Osborne said that over the last three years, Tabitha’s Way has seen an average of a 30% increase year over year, adding that the numbers of families needing food assistance has increased significantly.
“Right now, we’re currently serving over 500 households every single week from our Spanish Fork pantry alone,” she said. “As our communities grow, we’ll need to help more families and I want to thank everybody for the support they’ve given over the years that has brought us to this juncture. I’m so very blessed and grateful for their help, and I just want to continue to tell people that our work’s not done yet. We’re going to need a lot more hands and a lot more help. I encourage people to go to our website and see the different ways that they can get involved.”
To donate or learn more about volunteer opportunities at Tabitha’s Way, visit tabithasway.org. “Together, we can provide hope and nourishment to those in need.”
