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Mormon storehouses see economic impact

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Michael Paulson August 8, 2009 11:55 PM

In the last few months, I have visited Mormon bishops' storehouses in Salt Lake City and in Worcester, Mass., and in today's Globe, I have a story looking at the impact of the economic downturn on the Mormon welfare system, and, in particular, on the bishops' storehouses, where Mormons can get free groceries and household supplies if they demonstrate need to their congregational leaders. An excerpt:

In yet another indication of the toll the recession has taken on the United States, usage of Mormon storehouses is up by an estimated 30 percent, according to church officials in Utah and Massachusetts.
“A lot of people are proud and ashamed they need help,’’ said Gregory Hill, 39, of Springfield, who has been unemployed since being laid off as a DHL delivery driver last November, and who on a recent day drove the 45 minutes to Worcester to pick up free supplies for his family of four. “But nobody’s hiring.’’

Check out the video, by Globe photographer Suzanne Kreiter, above.

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2 comments so far...

I'm confused. Are these storehouses open only to Mormons?

Posted by Colin August 9, 09 08:56 AM

To answer Colin's question, the main purpose of the storehouse goods is providing for LDS church members in need. However, bishops of LDS congregations have freedom to distribute goods to non-Mormons at their discretion. Congregations can donate generously to local (town-based) food pantries. But a non-Mormon can't simply go to the storehouse and get food without a signed authorization form from an LDS bishop. The storehouses aren't intended to take the place of community-based food pantries which are funded by community donations, but rather, to make sure that LDS funds donated for this purpose are always providing emergency relief for Mormons in need.

Posted by Julie Berry August 10, 09 01:31 PM

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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
E-mail mpaulson@globe.com.

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Harvey Cox, the Hollis professor of divinity at Harvard University, marks his retirement by asserting a little-used right of his professorship -- to graze a cow in Harvard Yard. Photo, by Barry Chin of the Globe staff, taken on Sept. 10, 2009 in Cambridge, Mass.