The Church of Jesus Christ joins hands with Midwest Food Bank Texas
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bishop’s Storehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, teamed up with the Midwest Food Bank, Bloomington, Illinois, to have a truck of food commodities delivered to their Fort Worth, Texas facility located in Haltom City.
By Shane Keil
About Midwest Food Bank
Midwest Food Bank is a faith-based organization. It is their mission to share the love of Christ by alleviating hunger and malnutrition locally and throughout the world, providing disaster relief all without discrimination. Their vision is to provide industry-leading food relief to those in need while feeding them spiritually. Midwest Food Bank's values are built on the Biblical base of the ‘fruit of the spirit’ —Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. These values give them a roadmap to "Sharing the Blessings.”
Front of MFB office / warehouse in Haltom City, Texas. Image courtesy of Shane Keil.
Their story began in 2003 when the Kieser family acted on their faith to share their blessings. They turned a shed on their family farm into a distribution site for local food pantries. They soon realized the need was more significant and there was room for growth. From this humble beginning, Robert, David and Paul Kieser began growing this vision to twelve locations in Illinois, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, New England, East Africa and Haiti. More than one million people receive assistance through MFB partner agencies each month. David Kieser, Founder and President, said:
“Our hope is to help bridge the gap between prosperity and poverty in our community.”
Chris Lee, Operations Manager in Texas, spoke about his passion for serving the Lord by providing sustenance to those in need. He has seen the blessings from their work to those they serve as well as to their operations. Their previous facility was in a converted grocery store location in Bedford, and they quickly outgrew capacity to serve their patrons. Not to mention the facility was old and needed many improvements. The blessing came when an opportunity came about to move to a newly built warehouse. It provided more room for storage as well as space for a 1,000 sq. ft. walk-in refrigeration and frozen food storage space, which they didn’t have before. The move improved their ability to provide to their existing partner agencies and to add more partners to support.
These partner agencies are other local food banks and smaller relief agencies (churches, schools, food pantries), that rely on private donations with additional support from MFB for food commodities for their communities. At the time of this article, the MFB Haltom City location was already helping more than 100 partner agencies.
A Delivery Made Possible
Julie Poole, Manager of LDS Welfare & Self Reliance Services in Dallas for the Church, helped make this delivery possible by speaking with LDS Church headquarters.
Julie said, “Due to the way they do business in not charging and their philosophy; and due to the range and scope of their client agencies / organizations, they met many things in the way we do things in the Church.”
In May of this year, Julie Poole, Brandon Ellison, Fort Worth Stake President, Shane Keil, Director Communication Hurst Stake; met with Chris Lee and David Emerson (MFB Executive Director), at their location in Haltom City for a guided tour. Chris and David explained the history of MFB, and how they do business. They spoke of the mission of MFB and their founders along with the miracles and doors that opened when there needed to be a way to give assistance and the path opening for them to help those in need.
The warehouse is well organized and maintains a high level of cleanliness. Aisles of warehouse racks rise up well over 15 feet tall. Full pallets are stacked neatly, wrapped in clear plastic and labeled with a receiving date and an expiration date used for rotating products to the receiving agencies.
MFB volunteer reviewing delivered food from Bishop’s storehouse. Image courtesy of Shane Keil.
Through the efforts and collaboration of MFB with major food manufacturers, many pallets have name brand products donated by these known companies to MFB for their distribution.
The MFB location is within the Hurst Stake boundaries, however, President Ellison of the Fort Worth Stake has reached out to MFB, connecting them with an organization group in his Stake that could benefit from MFB. Through President Ellison’s efforts, Chris and MFB will add them to their partner agencies.
The tour ended with Chris offering a prayer. It was very noticeable to us visiting that day, how the spirit is present in the work this organization is doing. They do not seek fame, advertisement, notoriety, as Chris said:
“Let the Lord’s work shine in all this—it’s his work and glory we praise.”
Getting Started in Haltom City
On June 28, 2023, Midwest Food Bank, Haltom City location received its first delivery of commodities from the Bishop’s Storehouse in Salt Lake City. Kevin Chase, Deseret truck driver and member of the Church, drove it down the night before to be unloaded. Before the truck was emptied, a prayer was offered in thanks and then the work began. It took only 30 minutes to unload the full palletized trailer. Pallets of laundry soap, peanut butter, cake mixes, beans, soups, canned stew, canned vegetables, jam (what’s peanut butter without jam?) and other canned food items were positioned down a warehouse aisle. These would enter inventory and then the individual pallet would be set on the warehouse shelves to be later used to fill orders. MFB will be part of a schedule receiving from the Bishop’s Storehouse on a rotational basis.
MFB Volunteers with Kevin Chase—truck driver, and Chris Lee—MFB Operations Mgr. (far right). Image courtesy of Shane Keil.
Each work day at MFB starts off with prayer for the work they do and the people they serve. The staff workers are volunteers, some retired, many being there because of the MFB mission to serve those in need. MFB promotes volunteerism and encourages it among the community. From their website these points are found:
Making a difference: Providing a service to those in need brings a sense of accomplishment, pride, and happiness.
Learning new skills: Work done at volunteer organizations often differs greatly from work done in private businesses. By taking advantage of community service opportunities, one has the chance to learn more about other industries while gaining communication and teamwork skills.
Building community: Volunteering is an excellent way to build team spirit, foster relationships among group members, or make new friends.
Boosting your resume: People love to work with good people! Volunteer experience may boost your chances of landing a job or getting into your preferred college.
Volunteer opportunities are available by going to the Midwest Food Bank website: https://www.midwestfoodbank.org/volunteer
JustServe specialists are encouraged to use MFB as a resource for service opportunities. Other organizations within the Church of Jesus Christ such as Elders Quorums, Relief Society, Young Single Adults, Single Adults, Young Men and Young Women groups—are also encouraged (check with MFB for age limitations). Call them directly or visit their website for more information on service opportunities: 817-571-4600.
Shane Keil (kyle) serves as the Hurst Stake Communications and Social Media Director. In his profession, he works in outside sales; assisting engineers with the design of city water and wastewater infrastructure. He enjoys being with his wife, kids, watching movies, cooking, and playing the drums during his free time.