Pleasant View—peaches are being harvested right now at the North Ogden, Utah, Orchard, and it’s looking to be a record-breaking harvest when all is said and done. Volunteers and service missionaries at the orchard started picking the peaches August 16 and go until mid-September. After that, the peaches will be sent to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Boise Cannery where all the fruit is canned for the Church. From there, the peaches are sent all over the U.S. and the world, helping all sorts of people from different walks of life.
In 2008, 17 truckloads went to different food banks in Georgia after disaster struck there. Most people who received help were non LDS. But that’s no surprise as the Church’s humanitarian programs are aimed at helping people no matter what religion they affiliate. A statement from their humanitarian website says: “Church humanitarian work primarily helps those in need who are not members of the Church. There are many people in virtually any community in the world who struggle to meet their basic needs. The Church seeks to help as many as possible.”
Bruce Liston, who manages the orchard, talked about how he has seen a lot of different miracles happen in the orchard over the years. In the spring of 2007, Bruce and the previous orchard manager, were walking through the orchard and couldn’t see any fruit blossoming yet. After asking for prayers to be said, the fruit started to blossom and the peaches were harvested. Another time in 2009, a really bad hailstorm hit the orchard. Many people thought the crop was going to be destroyed, but when harvest time came there was no damage whatsoever to the peaches. “You really get to the see the hand of the Lord in the orchard,” Bruce said.
