The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northeast Ohio donated 20,000 pounds of food to the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland yesterday, Tuesday, Aug. 12—significantly boosting its food pantry supplies.

The donation comes during the Salvation Army's "Need Knows No Season" campaign, with the objective to raise awareness that hunger exists year-round.

"A lot of people just associate us with Christmas, and what they don't realize is need knows no season,” says Salvation Army Greater Cleveland director of development Gina Campbell. “We're feeding people 365 days a year."

Volunteers sort and pack food donations.She says the donation includes shelf-stable items like peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, canned vegetables, canned fruit, flour, and beans. The food will be distributed between five Salvation Army pantries in East Cleveland, Collinwood, West Park, Ohio City, and Miles Park.

This marks the third such donation from the Church of Latter-day Saints to the Salvation Army in two years, demonstrating a strong ongoing partnership between the two organizations. The timing is particularly crucial as families face increased financial pressure during the back-to-school season.

"This is a really difficult time for people when you think about going back to school, the cost of school clothing, gym shoes, school supplies," Campbell explains. "You have to pay your utility bills or it's going to be shut off. So the wiggle room is with food.”

The donation comes as part of the Salvation Army's three-month "Need Knows No Season" campaign, which has a goal this year of raising $300,000. Campbell notes that the campaign provided enough food for 850,005 meals in Greater Cleveland last year.

Campbell notes that food insecurity in Cuyahoga County affects over 18% of the population, according to Feeding America. She says the situation has been exacerbated by rising costs of living.

"Some of the people that we serve, some of our neighbors... they're looking at increased price of food. Their cost of living did not go up with it," Campbell says.

The food will be distributed through the Salvation Army's choice pantry system, allowing people to select items that best meet their needs and cultural preferences. "This is food that is very desirable," Campbell says, adding that the 20,000 pounds of food will be distributed within about a month.