Pallets of food are stocked on steel shelves in simple rotation to ensure product freshness
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints new 570,391 square-foot welfare facility will help respond to disasters and care for those in need.
The Bishops' Central Storehouse, located on 5405 West 300 South in Salt Lake City, Utah stores food and supplies that are distributed to central storehouses in five other regions of the United States and Canada.
Rows of food and provisions fill the storehouse, which is comprised of a bulk storage area, a rack storage area and 63,000 square feet of freezer and cooler space. Supplies are specifically stacked and a rotating system is used to ensure and maintain freshness.
One of the unique features of the new storehouse is that it was constructed to meet seismic guidelines and is capable of withstanding a 7.0 earthquake. It was designed to stay in operation during a disaster of that magnitude to ensure that help is available to the community.
The facility also houses Deseret Transportation — with 43 tractors, 98 trailers and 44 loading docks products and necessities are easily moved to wherever they are needed. The fleet logs about 3.7 million miles per year delivering goods to some 110 church storehouses across the United States and Canada and maintains a topnotch safety record.
Because of the way the storehouse is organized and operated, supplies are capable of being distributed to those in need at a moments notice. This was evident in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern United States. Emergency supplies were on site within 24 hours and over 400 semi-trucks with food, water and other essential supplies were dispatched to the disaster zone over the following weeks.
The employees and missionaries who keep the storehouse clean, stocked and ready to deliver food and supplies don’t see their roles as just workers. Bishop Jones of the 13th ward said, “They possess an enthusiasm for what they do because of their passion to serve.”
While the Church’s welfare program is designed to help those in need on a temporary basis the main goal is to teach people to become independent and teach them how to provide for themselves.
I was interested in this post because I have always wanted to learn more about the Bishop's Storehouse and the role it plays in helping community members receive food relief. I was impressed with the examples you gave of Hurricane Katrina help and the storehouse's ability to withstand large earthquakes. Both of these points gave the piece added credibility and put the storehouse in a very positive light for food justice issues. This is a good rebuttal for those who say food help recipients aren't being proactive towards independence from these services, given your closing statement saying "the mail goal is to teach people to become independent and teach them how to provide for themselves." However, I would have liked to learn how the storehouse teaches them independence. That is the one thing I saw lacking in this piece. You have great grammar usage and the piece is clearly organized. Really great job!
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