High 5: Women Help Fight Hunger In Lehi

LEHI, Utah – The holiday season is often filled with a soaring number of local families needing aid.

This year in general, though, some people have been hit all year long. Utah County is no exception.

A group of volunteers help distribute food every Thursday in the parking lot of a church in Lehi. Between the Utah Food Bank and the volunteers from the Orem 2nd Polynesian Stake, the group helps hundreds of families in the area.

But there are two women whose efforts this year received them a nomination for a KSL High 5.

Rosie Satiu and Tine Tau are the two who have helped make the event happen every week since March. They begin between 5 – 6 a.m. and work all morning long organizing, assigning tasks, and getting the volunteers going.

They do it with a smile – and some awesome movies.

“(With) Polynesians, it’s all about having fun,” Tau said. “Especially when it’s cold – we got to get moving and dancing.”

“We laugh, we dance to the music,” Satiu added. “We just have a lot of fun. So the reward is you leave here feeling like you’ve just done something really good.”

Tau lost her dad just a week before the KSL interview, and she said she’s doing what he would want and expect of her.

“I get a feeling of gratitude knowing that I can serve them, knowing this is something that will benefit them,” she said.

For Saitu, she said her reward is endless.

“People’s faces when they receive the food, just being around the volunteers, is amazing,” she said. “The energy they bring, the love.”

The volunteers want to let Tau and Saitu know they are appreciated. In true selfless fashion, though, the women thanked the volunteers.

“The biggest thank you I could ever give,” Tau said. “We are here to serve one another, so I am totally grateful for them.”

There is a significant need right now across parts of the state for food donations and volunteers. If you want to get involved with these great people, some of the opportunities are listed on the Utah Food Bank website.