Valeria Cruz, the assistant manager of the Christian Center of Park City’s Heber City food pantry, doesn’t consider herself a very political person. 

“I get to sit here and watch the world play out totally differently than what the media tells me to believe. And it’s watching our community respond quickly and bring donations and be here and serve the community as volunteers. That’s what I get to see,” she said. 

Despite her apolitical nature, Cruz watched the Utah legislative session with interest after several of the food pantry’s volunteers notified her of House Bill 88, introduced by Republican Rep. Trevor Lee, who represents Davis County.

The bill would have required those above the age of 18 to verify their immigration status to receive public benefits, including non-emergency medical health care, food assistance and tuition assistance. 

After receiving pushback from some Republican representatives, the bill died when the legislative session ended on Friday.

That afternoon, Cruz shared some of her concerns about how the bill could have impacted the Christian Center of Park City’s food pantries in Summit and Wasatch counties.

During the government shutdown in October and November, the state allocated up to $4 million to Utah Food Bank, a portion of which was distributed to the Christian Center of Park City’s food pantries. 

Cruz believed requiring verification of citizenship status to receive public benefits would have had adverse consequences for the pantry and its patrons, both documented and undocumented.

“It would affect the way we have been able to respond to crisis, like … when the government shutdowns happened, when COVID happened. When we don’t have to require so much of you, when we don’t have to send you back to bring proof of who you are and where you were born and stuff, that keeps the flow going, and it allows us to respond in times of crisis,” she said. 

She added, “Not only does it limit how fast we can serve you, it also could have the potential for us tracking more of your information: who’s coming in, who’s going out, who received what.”

Cruz said many patrons value their privacy and the fact that the food pantry does not ask many questions of them. She believed some patrons, not just undocumented immigrants, would have stopped coming to the food pantry if H.B. 88 had passed.

Since child nutrition services would not have required citizenship verification under H.B. 88, it would not have impacted Christian Center initiatives like the backpack program.

The program sends food insecure students, identified by school counselors and teachers, home every other Friday with a backpack full of food. The program operates throughout the school year and distributes 600 to 640 bags of food every other week in the Wasatch County School District and 500 bags every other week in the Park City School District.

But Cruz believed children whose parents were unable or unwilling to receive food assistance would have been impacted by H.B. 88. 

“I don’t think children should suffer hunger based on who their parents are or where they came from, if we can avoid that” she said.

Even without H.B. 88, Cruz said some Latino families with members who are undocumented or in the process of becoming citizens are not coming through the food pantry’s doors as frequently due to fears about immigration enforcement.

Cruz has seen heightened tension around the issue has come to Summit and Wasatch counties in other ways. She heard from a patron of the food pantry that, when the patron had made a complaint about their work schedule to their employer, they were accused of being undocumented, despite the fact that she is not. Cruz did not know the name of the employer but said that they were based in Park City.

“Everything that is going on in the country will kind of affect our small community,” Cruz said. “I think it is limiting who feels comfortable coming through our doors, and not necessarily because of the Christian Center because I think we have always made it a safe place for anyone and everyone to be and come in and be served.”

Cruz hopes that atmosphere never has to change.

“I think I can speak for 99% of the people that walk through those doors. They honestly don’t want to be here. They don’t want their children to have to be here. They don’t want to have to receive this food,” she said. “What we want to do is continue to be here and serve those that come through our door, so that regardless of what’s going on, you know you have a neighbor that loves on you and wants you and your children to thrive and our community to thrive.”

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The Christian Center of Park City held their annual family-friendly and non-competitive Hike For Hunger at Deer Valley Resort Saturday afternoon, September 9, 2017. The event, which featured three hiking and two biking trails, aimed to raise awareness about hunger issues in the Park City community. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

Link to full gallery here: https://parkrecordphoto.smugmug.com/PHOTOS-CCPCs-Hike-For-Hunger/

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The Christian Center of Park City held their annual Back to School Basics shopping event at the Tanger Outlet Mall Friday morning, August 11, 2017. The event sponsored 550 children, giving each a $100 gift card to spend on clothes and school supplies at select stores throughout the outlets. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

Link to full gallery: https://parkrecordphoto.smugmug.com/PHOTOS-Back-To-School-Basics-Shopping/

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The Christian Center of Park City and the Park City/Summit County Arts Council put on the Latino Arts Festival at the Park City Library Saturday evening, June 3, 2017. The festival featured an afternoon full of live music, food, and more, as well as a free screening of the Sundance Film Festival’s film “Cesar’s Last Fast.” A variety of traditional dances were performed near the end of the celebration. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

Link to gallery here: https://parkrecordphoto.smugmug.com/PHOTOS-Latino-Arts-Festival/

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