OGDEN — The Ogden Salvation Army says thieves are hurting its ability to feed the needy and the homeless.

“We estimate that we lost … about $18,000 in food,” operations manager Bub Fowers said.

A cooler full of meat was damaged by thieves last month. All the meat is now gone — spoiled.

“We issue up to 700, 800 food boxes a month, and a third of those are meat,” Fowers said.

Someone hopped the fence at 2615 Grant Ave. and stripped a cooler of its copper tubing Friday, Aug. 14, he said. The damage to the meat wasn’t discovered for a couple days.

"We didn't catch the issue until the following Monday, and by that time, with the accelerated heat and so forth, we lost all the product," Fowers said.

The mess was already spilling out onto the asphalt, leaving a pungent odor.

“I wish they could have gotten inside and got the food, because I’m sure what they actually got out of it probably wasn’t used for food,” said Sandra Taylor, administrative assistant for the Ogden Salvation Army.

While the Salvation Army still has a lot of canned and dry goods, it says it needs some help.

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Fowers said they need between $2,000 and $4,000 to get a new cooler. Insurance will cover the cost of a new cooler, he said, but it won’t pay for the installation.

“The price that the vandals would have gotten for the copper doesn’t even come close to the loss that it was to the Salvation Army,” Fowers said.

Donations can be made by calling 801-621-3580.

Email: manderson@deseretnews.com

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