Imperial Valley Food Bank receives donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints donated 40,000 pounds of food, which will give a much needed boost to fight hunger across the valley.

The donation was planned to coincide with the celebration of America's independence, hitting 250 cities.

"The Church of Jesus Christ wanted to do something very special for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And what a better thing to do is to go ahead and maybe impact 250 cities or communities throughout this country," Church Elder and Leader Clark told KYMA.

Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez fought back tears as he described how this donation will help 1400 families eat for a week.

"You know, one in three kids don't know where their next meal is coming from, and we, we feed the nation here, and yet we don't know where our next meal is coming from, so I'm emotional because I'm I'm grateful.," Gonzalez said, wiping away tears.

Feeding the community, Gonzalez said, is not a partisan issue. He said, there is too much division right now.

"This is where we get to come together with the church, with the food bank, with community partners and say, 'Enough division, let's unite, let's come together and feed our community.' So I'm emotional because it's a blessing," he added.

This food comes at a critical time when children are out of school and may not have access to school breakfasts and lunches.

Executive Director Sara Griffen said that our Valley feeds the nation, yet it remains a struggle to get food here.

"Between Yuma and Imperial valley, your lettuce, your carrots, all your ground vegetables come from this area, nurtured by local people, picked by local people, but no necessarily those local people benefitting from that," she said.