USANA, Dr. Oz Open New Food-Packing Facility

To combat child hunger in Utah, USANA recently opened a new food-packing facility with the goal of filling and delivering 1,000 backpacks each week to hungry children.

“Having acquired Kids Eat Utah and Kids Next Door this past summer, USANA has joined them with our charity, the USANA Foundation, and built a new facility to provide more food to Utah kids who face daily hunger,” said USANA CEO Kevin Guest.

One in five Utah children goes home to insufficient or no food every day, a fact that has caught the attention of Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. Oz Show. Oz, who visited Salt Lake City to help officially open the new facility, invited the public to help pack backpacks for kids.

“I am honored to be a part of something that will help so many lives each day,” Oz said. “Join me as we open the brand new USANA Kids Eat facility so we can get more food in backpacks to give to kids because no child should ever go hungry.”

In Salt Lake Valley, 56,000 children qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.

“With each backpack containing seven meals, we are filling and distributing 800 backpacks each week,” said Brian Paul, USANA Foundation president. “For long holiday breaks, we fill over 3,000 extended-break food kits so kids will have enough food. We welcome the public’s help to reach the goal of filling and distributing 1,000 backpacks per week, which will total 300,000 meals for hungry kids in our community in 2020.”

Since 2012, the USANA Foundation, a charitable arm established to ensure impoverished children and families reach their fullest potential by providing food and nutrition, has donated more than $10 million in 26 countries around the world to provide more than 40 million meals.

“We are very grateful we can expand operations at our world headquarters to help Utah children get the food they need,” said Guest.