Northwest Assistance Ministries to receive 40-ton food donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Northwest Assistance Ministries received a donation of approximately 20,000 pounds of food from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Nov. 13. Northwest Assistance Ministries received a donation of approximately 20,000 pounds of food from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Nov. 13. Photo: Provided By Northwest Assistance Ministries Photo: Provided By Northwest Assistance Ministries Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Northwest Assistance Ministries to receive 40-ton food donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

As children around Houston are not allowed to attend school and parents are prevented from or unable to go to work, Northwest Assistance Ministries is providing food for families in need during mass closures of businesses and school districts caused by an outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, in Houston.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is donating 40 tons of food in order to help the nonprofit feed the local community.

Related: Coronavirus hits Houston: What you need to know

NAM, a nonprofit social service provider, will receive the donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on March 18. Volunteers with the church will help unload the food into the Joanne Watford Nutrition Center. The nutrition center provides a shopping environment for families to choose their food. The church previously donated 20,000 pounds of food to NAM in November 2019.

“We would like to thank The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and President Sam Bickman for offering NAM all of this wonderful food,” Les Cave, president and CEO of NAM, said. “The shelves in our Nutrition Center are starting to go bare because more people have been coming to NAM for help with food. We are eternally grateful and look forward to continuing to work with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus, NAM is staying open but taking precautions as well. Seniors are receiving 900 Meals on Wheels from the organization and seniors who attended lunch at NAM will have it delivered to them Brian Carr, chief advancement officer for NAM, said.

“We have also delivered two weeks of shelf stable meals to our clients in case of an interruption in service,” he said. “Our Pediatric Health Center has all of the necessary protocols in place to continue seeing pediatric patients. I hope you and those close to you are all healthy and protected during this unprecedented public health nightmare. NAM is committed to staying open and serving the community. We are still handing out food to families on a daily basis.”

NAM has also suspended its Wellness Fair to a later date and is asking for volunteers to help during this time of need. For more information on NAM, visit https://www.namonline.org/.

chevall.pryce@chron.com