Community Action Services and Food Bank has shut down its Heber City food pantry and temporarily closed its Oakley and Coalville locations. Hundreds of families and individuals will be affected, but the Christian Center of Park City said it’s ready to fill service gaps.  The closures come two weeks after the Utah County-based nonprofit said it needed $100,000 to remain operational through the end of October and $1.5 million by the end of the year. “The temporary closure follows an increasingly difficult financial environment marked by declining grant funding and donations, and growing demand for services,” Community Action Services and Food Bank said in a media release on Friday.  The Heber City food pantry served about 60 families, or about 150 individuals, each week. A 2025 community impact report showed Community Action Services and Food Bank pantries across the state assisted more than 22,600 nonrepeat individuals last year.  Laura Vernor has been the Heber City pantry supervisor for six years. She was furloughed on Friday, but Vernor said individuals can continue to reach out to her for information on assistance.  “I am hopeful that the community is having the right meetings to make sure that needs are met,” Vernor said. “There is a need that won’t be met, and it’ll be hard to feel. But players in the community are having meetings and hopefully finding ways to make it all work.” Jessica Bryant, deputy director of grants and marketing for the Christian Center of Park City, said the nonprofit is prepared to step up and meet that need.  “We’re ready to serve,” Bryant said.  People can visit the Christian Center of Park City Heber City pantry up to three times per month, as opposed to the regular two times per month. Bryant said that increase will help individuals who visit both pantries receive assistance. All someone needs to participate are a photo ID and proof of residency in Summit or Wasatch counties. The Christian Center of Park City Heber City pantry has served Wasatch County since 2014 with more than 30,000 visits per year on average. There are about 65,000 visits to the Park City food pantry each year among households in Wasatch and Summit counties.  Late fall and winter are often busy months for Wasatch Back food pantries, but Bryant said the Community Action Services and Food Bank closures echo last year when Wasatch Back pantries saw an increased demand as SNAP benefits ran dry. “We were ready to help more people, and the community really stepped up to give us donations that we were able to turn around and give back out to the community,” Bryant said.  She is anticipating a similar response from the community with the new closures. Bryant said food donations, financial donations and volunteer hours are all welcome. Community Action Services and Food Bank will deliver shelf-stable items from Coalville, Oakley and Heber City to the Christian Center of Park City’s Heber City location, Bryant said. In a press release, Christian Center of Park City Executive Director Steve Richardson said the food bank closures are “a real loss” for the Wasatch Back community.  “It’s also a chance for neighbors to care for one another,” Richardson said.  Jaime Mira, the deputy director of the Christian Center of Park City food pantries, oversees operations across Park City and the Heber Valley. He said the Christian Center of Park City will not turn away “anyone who needs food.” With the holiday season on the horizon, Mira said the nonprofit expects to see an increased need. That includes preparing for Thanksgiving. Before the holiday, the Christian Center of Park City will receive some 1,800 turkeys, donated each year by the Park City Board of Realtors.  Mira said that’s one opportunity for volunteers — to haul 20-pound turkeys off a truck and into the pantry’s refrigerators. But Mira said volunteers have no shortage of tasks. Those looking to help can also sort and organize food and donations of canned meat, diapers, cooking oil, flour and snack bars.  Mira added that, along with increasing pantry service opportunities to three days per month, the Christian Center of Park City hopes to conduct more mobile food pantries. That will help individuals in more rural areas like Oakley and Coalville avoid trips to Heber City and Park City for food aid.  Bryant said it’s time for the Christian Center of Park City to become “creative.” “It’s always a tragedy that kind of hits you when a similarly minded nonprofit has to close for any reason,” Bryant said. But she added it makes her proud to work there to help those in need.  “We’ve seen people step up in the past to make sure that no one has to go hungry, no one has to take less because we have an increased need,” Bryant said. “We don’t anticipate any of our food pantries having to give away less food so that we can accommodate more visits.” The Christian Center of Park City food pantry is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 55 East Center Street in Heber City. The post Christian Center of Park City steps up as Wasatch Back food pantries are shuttered appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less