The Church of Jesus Christ Joins Other Christians to Feed the Hungry in Massachusetts

On Saturday, November 19, 2022, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 3,000 frozen turkeys and 40 tons of nonperishable food in the Boston area. With the help of Catholic Charities Boston and the Azusa Christian Community, the food was delivered to those who need it most this Thanksgiving.

Three semitrucks of food from the Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City arrived in Boston on that Saturday. A thousand turkeys were delivered to Catholic Charities Boston to help them in their distribution of 1,400 Thanksgiving meals to households in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood. The Church has given several truckloads of food to Catholic Charities Boston this year.

The other 2,000 turkeys, along with the 40 tons of food, were unloaded at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Newton, Massachusetts. About 400 volunteers spent their Saturday unloading the food and repackaging it into 2,000 food kits. Members of the Azusa Christian Community — a nonprofit run by the Rev. Eugene Rivers and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Rivers — picked up the repackaged provisions and distributed them to those in need in Boston, Malden and Springfield.

A similar donation and partnership with the Riverses took place prior to Thanksgiving 2021. The Church’s association with the Riverses dates back to at least 2014, when the couple joined Latter-day Saint and other global faith leaders at a Vatican summit on the importance of marriage in society. In 2017, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at a Black church leadership summit hosted by the Riverses. And in 2021, Elder Cook joined Dr. Rivers in a panel on interfaith cooperation at the University of Notre Dame.

Saturday’s service in the Boston community is a snapshot of how the Church strives to follow the example of Jesus Christ around the world. Last year alone, the Church gave nearly $1 billion in humanitarian and welfare projects, and everyday Latter-day Saints like those in Boston spent 6.8 million hours in service.