March 16 Named Feed Utah Day During Kick-off at Feed Utah Press Conference

Utah Food Bank held a press conference on March 14 to kick off their largest food drive of the year, Feed Utah. At the press event, Darin Peirce, senior vice president of Associated Food Stores and president of Associated Retail Operations made remarks about Feed Utah and the “excitement” from Macey’s and Lin’s Market store teams as they gear up to accept donations as drop off locations from 9-1 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.

From left to right: Ginette Bott, CEO Utah Food Bank, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Juan Becerra, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Darin Peirce, Senior Vice President of Associated Food Stores and President of Associated Retail Operations

Utah Governor Spencer Cox spoke about the importance of donating and named March 16 Feed Utah Day. He also commented that he loved Associated Food Stores and enjoyed shopping with member store Terrel’s when he was growing up.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Just Serve have rallied volunteers to deliver Feed Utah door hangers, as well as collect food from every front porch to support the Feed Utah drive.

Darin Peirce, senior vice president of Associated Food Stores and President of Associated Retail Operations making remarks at the Feed Utah Press Conference.

“Our Macey’s and Lin’s store teams are ready, and they know the importance of what we are doing,” said Sarah Pettit, public relations manager. “We are all in alignment with the bigger picture— one in ten children in Utah do not know where their next meal is coming from. As a food company, we know we can truly make a difference.”

Feed Utah could not happen without the collaboration of many AFS team members. Over 1.7 million door hangers were printed from the AFS copy center. The team began designing and printing door hangers in late October 2023. The AFS transportation team was wonderful in helping Macey’s and Lin’s stores receive drive supplies from Utah Food Bank, and they will also be picking up donations at select stores and dropping them off at local food pantries across the state.

“It’s quite an effort, and our team always rises to the occasion,” Sarah said.

Governor Cox thanked Associated Food Stores for their participation and commented that he has a love for Terrel’s Marketplace.

The food collected will be distributed to 245 food pantries across Utah to help the 317,000 Utahns at risk of missing a meal today. Feed Utah is the largest state-wide food drive for Utah Food Bank.

To participate in Feed Utah on Saturday, March 16, individuals can:

  • Leave a box or bag of non-perishable food items on your porch before 9 a.m.
  • Drop off donations at a local Macey’s or Lin’s Market before 1 p.m.
  • Register to become a volunteer at UtahFoodBank.org
Governor Cox making the first donation of Food Club items for Feed Utah.