Last Christmas, a dozen or so groups independently decided to hand out food to the homeless around downtown Salt Lake City.
The trouble was, large charities that usually offer them help — including Catholic Community Services and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — had already arranged a steak dinner for 1,000 of them, with 100 volunteers serving.
“People were pretty full” by the time that dinner started at the St. Vincent de Paul dining hall, said Pamela Atkinson, an advocate for the homeless. “People came in and said, ‘We really want the steak, Pamela.