Thousands of pounds of food will be donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to local food pantries of inner-city churches and Catholic Charities in Central Virginia.

Downloadable video: B-roll / SOTs

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was at the bishops’ storehouse in Virginia’s capital, Richmond, Tuesday, March 3, 2020, for the announcement.

“We have set aside 40,000 pounds of food commodities to come to these groups, represented here today, through the course of this year,” said Elder Christofferson, who was joined by his wife, Katherine; Elder Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy and his wife, Deborah; and Elder Michael M. Dudley, an Area Seventy.

Those attending the event included Robert Barnette, Virginia NAACP president, and representatives of area churches receiving the donations.

“These donations mean that people will get the nutrition and food they need to sustain them in their lives,” said Barnette.

“[The donation] means a lot,” said Deacon Roger Pegram of the Faith and Hope Temple. “We feed a lot of people during the week.”

“We just appreciate and feel blessed that we are included in this,” said Vicki Martin, director of Eastern Henrico FISH. Martin explained that her organization works to keep families in need together in their homes.

An initial delivery of eight pallets of food arrived by truck. The remaining food will be delivered to the food pantries in the coming months.

“We’re not giving them all of the food at once because … they don’t have space for it,” added Elder Haynie. “But over the course of this next year, we’re going to be donating a lot of food to … a total of ten different food banks that are associated with churches in the inner city in an effort to meet some of the needs of some of those who are less fortunate.”

Elder Christofferson’s visit to Virginia follows a similar announcement in New York City last week, when he revealed that donations will be made to 200 food pantries across New York state to commemorate this year’s 200th anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Outreach and Ministry

Earlier in the day, the apostle traveled to the Virginia State Capitol to meet with Governor Ralph Northam.

“We talked about the service work that members of the church do here,” said Elder Christofferson following the meeting. “We told him that we want our people to be the best citizens he has.”

He also presented the governor with information about Northam’s family history and a leather-bound copy of the Book of Mormon.

In the evening, he met with Henrico County leaders who govern the county where ground will be broken in April on the new Richmond Virginia Temple, the state’s first temple.

Also, during his visit to Richmond, Elder Christofferson gathered with full-time missionaries and 200 local Church leaders for a training meeting that was broadcast to meetinghouses in the area.

About 96,000 Latter-day Saints in 200 congregations live in Virginia.