SALT LAKE – The Alliance for Green Heat has awarded two Utah-based companies grant funding to help expand firewood banks in Utah. Huber Woods and Brandt Services will receive funding to process fuel wood for needy households.
Huber Woods, located in La Point, Utah, and Brandt Services in Monticello, Utah, will provide much-needed fuel wood for cooking and heating to disadvantaged communities.
The funding came from the Alliance for Green Heat, a non-profit organization chosen by the US
Forest Service in 2022 to administer a national program to support volunteer firewood banks.
Modeled after food banks, firewood banks depend on wood donated by tree trimmers, towns, and homeowners to distribute to community members. There are over 100 firewood
banks around the country, and each one is eligible for a grant of up to $15,000 to purchase
equipment to process firewood more efficiently.
Huber Woods primarily makes poles and posts and also makes firewood from the waste wood, which is then shared with those in need within the community. The Ute Tribe and local churches rely on the Huber Wood Bank to help donate firewood to tribal members and parishioners who are elderly and in need.
Brandt Services’ Firewood Bank is a husband and wife team that has been serving their community since 1984. Usually serving the elderly, they have also provided heating assistance to the Ute Tribe and the State of Utah. Organizational partners include the Wood for Life Program, Aneth Chapter, LDS Eastland Branch, LDS Monticello Branch, and the Navajo Ministries. The grant allowed Brandt Services to purchase a wood splitter, chainsaw, logs, and building materials for a tool shed and a wood shed and pay liability insurance for the firewood bank.
Private businesses and non-profit organizations interested in participating in the program can get more information from firewoodbanks.org.
Those interested in obtaining grant funding to help provide the fuel wood these firewood banks rely on can contact Bergen Eskildsen (bergeneskildsen@utah.gov), Forest Products and Business Coordinator with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.