ZONE EXCURSION

 13th &14th of July 2026

Missionaries from our Zone were invited to tour WelfareSquare OR the Humanitarian Center.

It was a difficult choice for us to make – we wanted to do both! The Zone tour only allowed us to tour one location during our office hours. We dallied about our choice until the majority of full-time and service missionaries had signed up for their choices.

Most selected the Humanitarian Center but, since I avoid crowds whenever possible, when we made our selection we picked Welfare Square. We later learned the Humanitarian group was large enough to divide in half so both groups could more readily move through the tour.  

Grain Silos: 16 million poundsof wheat, daily processing 200,000 lbs

Welfare Square was amazing. I was speechless! So was Elder Ames! We still are! Witness this incredible facility here.

And we got a close up, first hand, personal experience seeing how goods are grown, gathered, or donated for storage, preparation, and distribution. 

Enlarged charts helped us understand the way those in need qualify to receive assistance of food, clothing, education, and even on-site training with job and/or language skills. 

original facilities

One of the fun demonstrations was bread making at the bakery – but being near lunch and smelling all the delicious things was also a humbling experience. We realized more, how secure and affluent our lives truly are.

'Bread vats' make about 40 loaves each

Windows and camera feeds from restricted areas (for safety and/or hygiene concerns) allowed us to view production workers, methods, and quantities. 

And the smell of freshly baked bread was to die for - but no, they did not provide bread samples.

 

But tour guides (young missionaries) explained how the products, using blind taste testing, are compared with national brand names AND they are some people who get to taste test the products. YUMMY!! they said!!

We were so enthralled by Welfare Square that when we got home from our work day we called the Humanitarian Center to find out if, and when, we might be able to tour that. 

statue near front entrance

Apparently it has recently been rebuilt and during July free tours were running Monday – Friday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. We went the next day.  Even now tours are available between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Call for appointments and information – contacts on the included links.

Be sure to scroll down a bit on the link past all the info about the dignitaries and formal ceremonies to see the insides of some of the warehouses and equipment.

sorting and packaging

The Humanitarian Center was equally, if not more, astonishing! We were absolutely delighted to discover that the cataloging, processing, and organizing that happen over at Welfare Square are only the first steps before the Humanitarian Center.  

The next day and following week we told everyone that did that tour that they missed the first half of what occurs in the process and practices of caring for others.

For example: everything is meticulously numbered, labeled, and dated to efficiently move through the warehouses at both locations, while providing goods and services of all types to the greatest possible number of patrons AND prevent waste.

We loved the artistic 'RECYCLE' display showing bits of salvage from computers, and also the HOPE sign build out of ‘fake’ food bottles. 

The red dots spelling the letters 'hope' are made with the lids on peanut butter jars, and ketchup bottles line the top and bottom rows. The rest of the colors are labels on cans showing off fruits and vegetables. 

Milk showed the planning and long cycle of production from farm to table. Watching the factory lines of milk (and other common grocery items) sealed into various containers and processed into dry powder milk, butter and different cheese commodities was quite intriguing. 

It was also gratifying to learn about the interactive and interfaith coordinated efforts between many businesses and religions which assist communities to have clean water, medical and educational resources, and types of assistance for refugees too achieve more stability and security as they begin to build new lives. 

“In 2025, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent $1.58 billion for caring for those in need—an average of $4.3 million per day.” 

These numbers do not include millions of volunteer service hours or programs such as "Just Serve."