How the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) helps with food, bills, and jobs
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called the LDS or Mormon Church, runs one of the most organized church welfare systems in the country. Depending on your situation, that can mean free groceries from a bishops' storehouse, emergency help with rent or a utility bill, free one-on-one job coaching, low-cost counseling, or cheap clothing and furniture from a Deseret Industries thrift store. You do not have to be a member of the church to be helped.
What makes LDS assistance different is how you get it, and this page explains the process so you know what to do and what to expect. There is no application office, no hotline, and no online form. Nearly everything runs through the leader of a local congregation, called a bishop, who decides case by case what help the church can give.
How to ask the LDS Church for help
Start by finding the nearest LDS congregation, called a ward. The church's meetinghouse locator at https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org will show you the closest building along with service times. You can attend on a Sunday and ask to speak with the bishop, or call the meetinghouse and ask for the bishop or the Relief Society president, the leader of the congregation's women's organization who often helps assess family needs.
The bishop will meet with you privately to talk through your situation. Expect honest questions: what caused the crisis, what income you have, whether family can help, and whether you have applied for government programs you qualify for. The church teaches self-reliance, so the bishop is looking to solve the immediate emergency while helping you build a plan to stay stable. It is also common to be asked to do some volunteer service in exchange for help, such as a few hours at the storehouse or the meetinghouse - this is normal and applies to members and non-members alike. The bishop has full discretion, which means help is never guaranteed, but it also means a person with a genuine short-term crisis can sometimes get assistance the same week they ask.
Free food from a bishops' storehouse
A bishops' storehouse works like a free grocery store. The shelves carry the same kinds of items a supermarket does - canned goods, pasta, fresh produce, milk, meat, plus hygiene products and cleaning supplies - and everything is funded by donations from church members. You cannot walk in off the street; access requires a referral, usually a food order written by a bishop or Relief Society president after your meeting. Anyone in need can receive food this way, member or not.
There are storehouses across the country, though they are concentrated in areas with more church members. If there is no storehouse within reach, the system still works: the bishop can buy groceries and essentials for you at a local store using church funds. The section of this site on how food banks and pantries work covers additional free food options to combine with storehouse help.
Emergency help with rent, utility bills, and other expenses
The money for this kind of help comes from what the church calls fast offerings - donations members make each month specifically to care for people in need. A bishop can use these funds to help with rent, a utility bill, or other essential expenses during a genuine emergency. Payments almost always go directly to the landlord or utility company rather than to you as cash, and the church prefers to provide goods, like food from the storehouse, so your own money can stretch to cover the bills.
This help is short-term by design. The church's own guidance is that assistance should sustain life, not maintain a lifestyle, so expect support for essentials during a crisis rather than ongoing monthly help. If the church cannot cover enough of what you owe, combine it with other sources - the guides on this site to rent assistance programs by city and county as well as options for utility bill help by state and company list programs that stack with church aid.
Deseret Industries thrift stores and free goods
Deseret Industries, known as DI, is the church's chain of thrift stores, with dozens of locations mostly in the western United States - Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas. Anyone can shop there for low-cost clothing, furniture, and household goods, and a bishop can arrange a voucher so a family in crisis gets needed items free. Store locations are listed at https://www.deseretindustries.org.
DI is also a job training program. People facing barriers to employment can be hired as associates and receive paid work experience, training, and help furthering their education while they work toward a permanent job. If there is no DI near you, the pages on this site about thrift stores and how they work as well as free clothing closets by city and county cover similar low-cost options.
Free job coaching, counseling, and addiction recovery
The church's Employment Services offers free help finding work - one-on-one coaching, resume and interview preparation, job leads, and daily online job search groups - and the service is open to anyone, regardless of religion. Local congregations also run free self-reliance classes on topics like managing personal finances, starting a small business, and getting more education.
Two other services are worth knowing about. Family Services provides counseling, generally at low cost, for individuals, couples, and families. And the church's Addiction Recovery Program holds free twelve-step style meetings, in person and online, open to anyone working through an addiction; the guide to free substance abuse treatment programs on this site lists more no-cost options to pair with it.
What to expect from LDS Church assistance
Help varies from ward to ward, just as it does between any two churches, because each bishop weighs local needs and resources. Go into the meeting honest and specific: bring the past-due bill or eviction notice, explain what changed, and be open about other resources you have tried. Be prepared for the self-reliance focus - the bishop may ask you to make a budget, attend a class, or accept job help alongside the financial assistance, and may ask you to serve some volunteer hours. Treat whatever is offered as one-time crisis help rather than something to rely on monthly.
If the LDS Church cannot meet your need, do not stop there. The main guide to church assistance programs on this site covers other denominations and faith-based groups in your community, and most areas have several congregations with funds at different times of the year.
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