Logan • A northern Utah nonprofit that distributed 1.6 million diapers to families last year is running out of space.
As need for the nappies and other necessities swells, Logan’s Little Lambs Foundation for Kids is unable to accept large donations in its cramped 2,000-square-foot facility, potentially leaving some Utahns without essential hygiene supplies.
“We had to turn down an entire semi,” said foundation Executive Director Ted Chalfant, “and that was about a quarter of a million in donations that we weren’t able to accept.”
Chalfant hopes state funding can help his nonprofit create some room to grow while rising costs continue to fuel demand.
When he started Little Lambs out of his Logan basement in 2014, Chalfant had no idea how much of a need there would be in Cache County for his organization, which, at first, provided comfort kits to kids transitioning into foster care.
Even more surprising to him is how much the nonprofit has grown — from getting its own building, to becoming one of the only diaper banks in the state, to providing essentials such as feminine hygiene products, wipes and formula to more than 70,000 low-income families throughout Utah in 2024, Chalfant said.
The need, Chalfant said, rises drastically each year. In the organization’s first year, about 750 children were served.
“Diaper insecurity, it’s not an inconvenience; it’s a public health crisis,” he said. “Families should be able to have enough diapers so that they don’t have to choose, ‘Is it diapers or dinner today?’ Every child deserves dignity, respect and love, and they also need to feel secure.”
Chalfant, who grew up in a family that cared for foster children, started the foundation after seeing child after child arrive with only the clothes on their backs, and sometimes, their belongings in a trash bag or paper sack. What began as a program to provide essentials to help kids settle into new homes grew into a statewide distribution center for Division of Child and Family Services offices throughout the state.
Because of this, Chalfant has requested $3.1 million in state funding from the Utah Legislature to help build a 16,000-square-foot community resource center in Logan. The new center would not only support these services in Utah, he said, but also create space for additional programs, including a teen resource center to assist teen mothers with care for their children.
“Populations throughout the state are struggling,” he said. “It is our number one goal to make everyone be able to have access to basic essentials.”
Former Logan Republican Rep. Dan Johnson said he supports granting these funds, adding that he saw the demand for Little Lambs’ services grow significantly during his time in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers, he said, should focus on helping those in need.
“Sometimes, if you could just give a person a leg up,” Johnson said, “if you could just help them with some very basic needs, it’s such a difference-maker in their lives.”
Nibley resident Marilyn Wilson has been volunteering with Little Lambs for nearly a decade, helping create hygiene kits, delivering feminine products to girls at school and making clothing for families in need.
Wilson, who has seen the number of people turning to Little Lambs grow significantly over the years, said there is not enough space for volunteers — who provide nearly all the services — to work efficiently.
She said a new building is crucial for continuing these services. She has seen firsthand people facing illness or other difficult circumstances that lead them to ask for help.
“We give hope to families,” Wilson said. “That’s the biggest thing. We try to break the cycle of poverty. It takes a village.”
