Bountiful • South Davis County may look like a suburban sea of well-kept homes filled with financially stable families.

But Dave Karcher sees a different view as he oversees the Bountiful Community Food Pantry.

"Poverty is very real in south Davis," Karcher recently told a gathering of city mayors and county officials. "We measure it every day."

In a month's time, about 600 families — 2,000 individuals — walk through his doors, Karcher said. Tax returns and pay stubs show that 81 percent of the pantry's clients live in poverty.

During the past two years, client needs have increased by 56 percent, he added. Most cite job losses, the inability to find work or an unexpected medical crisis as their reasons for needing help.

Last summer, volunteers began surveying clients to see whether they could match broader needs to existing state- and federally funded programs. In January, the pantry launched its pilot case-management service by hiring volunteer Jaynann Johnson as a paid, part-time manager.

Based on current numbers, Karcher projects that by year's end, the pantry will have helped 140 families obtain federal food stamps, which equates to $715,000 in annual benefits.

"Many of [our clients] have had so many doors slammed in their face that they don't have the emotional stamina to try again," Karcher said. "But if we can get the ball rolling, they may actually end up on food stamps — and it's an enormous benefit."

Davis County — the state's third most populous county — has no homeless shelter, so those in need often get directed north to Ogden's facilities or south to Salt Lake City's Road Home. But on one cold January day this year, the state Office of Education tallied 1,073 homeless schoolchildren in Davis County — a point-in-time measure that fluctuates.

These residents — some are single moms with kids — are not the chronically homeless, said Lloyd Pendleton, who directs the state's Homeless Task Force. With a little case management — ongoing counseling and support — they can regain stability within four to five months, he said.

To help with the pantry's case management, employee Virginia Hahn also has joined the payroll on a part-time basis. Together, she and Johnson have identified close to 40 programs that South Davis residents can tap for help.

Many clients come in with dental needs, Johnson said. So she and Hahn lined up area dentists who are willing to provide low-cost care in exchange for tax write-offs.

But funds to pay Johnson and Hahn will soon dry up, Karcher said, and their work will end if other revenue sources cannot be found.

"I need $55,000 to fix this problem," Karcher said. "We haven't given up, but right now we don't have the answers."

Trying to spread the word out about the program's success and its need for continued funding, he hosted the September meeting of the Davis Council of Governments in the large storage area of the 7,500-square-foot facility.

Each year, the nonprofit receives about $55,000 in sales tax from the state based on food donations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides $15,000 to $20,000 each year for food purchases. Some private cash donations flow in.

Karcher previously managed a group of engineers at Hill Air Force Base, where he said he earned three times as much. "But I enjoy it," Karcher said of his current role. "We're literally changing lives."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

A version of this story previously appeared in the Davis County edition of CloseUp. —

How to help

The Bountiful Community Food Pantry's website — with "Donate Now" capability — will soon be functional. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to Bountiful Community Food Pantry, 480 E. 150 North, Bountiful, UT 84010-3501.