Alerts Sign-up
Families in Palmer, Alaska, waited outside the Real Life Church on November 22, 2025, for the annual Thanksgiving Blessing event. The initiative was organized by the Food Bank of Alaska (FBA) to address food insecurity affecting nearly 15% of Alaskans—about 106,000 people out of a population of 700,000.
Daniel Bentle, chief philanthropy officer at FBA, described it as “the biggest event of the year.” The two-day event provided ingredients for approximately 12,000 Thanksgiving dinners across 11 sites in Anchorage, the Matanuska and Susitna Valley, and Eagle River. One key donation was butter from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Butter is considered a delicacy in Alaska due to its high cost and limited local supply.
“Having dairy brought into the state and the support that we’ve gotten from [the Church] is incredible,” said Bentle.
At distribution sites like Palmer’s walkthrough setup and a meetinghouse in Anchorage, families received canned goods, potatoes, stuffing mix, biscuit mix, pies, frozen turkeys and more. Krystal Poole attended with her four children: “Being a single mom with all my children here, working full time, it’s still hard,” she said. “Food costs are really high right now… you still want to provide that good meal for your family.”
Jessica Betham also came to the Anchorage site: “This is a blessing,” she said. “I don’t know what I would do. My two youngest [children] have kidney disease… So this helps me tons.”
The event relied on hundreds of volunteers from different backgrounds and faiths. Helen Maea has volunteered for twelve years: “It helps me feel like I’m doing good back to the people that helped me… getting to know God better… helped change my life around.” Harper Montgomery participated while home from college: “I just love seeing the smiles on all the family’s faces… it honestly makes me feel like I’m doing … a good thing.”
Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ served at several locations. Elder Heaton commented: “There are all sorts of different types of backgrounds here. And it really shows to me that we are all children of God…”
Jeff Taylor, president of the Wasilla Alaska Stake for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stated: “How grateful we are for those who will come and participate... If we didn’t have people that we could serve, it would be a lonely world.”
The Thanksgiving Blessing required months of planning by various businesses and interfaith groups. “[The Church] has stepped in to just provide shipment after shipment after shipment of support,” said Bentle.
TOTE Maritime Alaska contributed free shipping for a 40,000-pound container filled with butter and cheese donated by The Church from Tacoma to Anchorage ports each year as part of their ongoing partnership with FBA.
Frank Kelly at FBA explained: “TOTE sponsors 40 containers a year from the lower 48 [states],” adding that these shipments go directly from Tacoma to Anchorage.
Larry Green manages Welfare and Self-Reliance Services for The Church’s work with FBA: he expressed gratitude for TOTE’s help moving donations northward.
In addition to Thanksgiving Blessing efforts this year—which included responding to Typhoon Halong in Western Alaska and impacts from recent government shutdowns—the Church sent semitruckloads of food supplies from Salt Lake City’s Bishops’ Central Storehouse during October.
Kelly concluded about future plans: “That collaboration has been wonderful... The support that the Church has given the Food Bank of Alaska really allows us to fulfill our mission in ways that we wouldn’t be able to do so otherwise. It’s greatly appreciated.”
