The Food & Care Coalition Candlelight Villas officially opened today thanks to significant support and thousands of dollars in donations from doTERRA and other major donors including VanCon, HomeAid, Utah County, Larry & Gail Miller Foundation, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Olene Walker Trust Fund. The groundbreaking in the fall of 2020 promised solutions to Utah County’s housing crisis. Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house included tours of the new spaces, giving attendees a chance to see the 72 newly constructed one-bedroom, permanent supportive housing units, updated landscaping that includes an active gardening space, and the doTERRA Center for Service. 

“We’ve been laboring over this important expansion for nearly two years and it’s wonderfully gratifying to see it finally open to the public and, most importantly, available to Utah County’s homeless population,” said Brent Crane, Executive Director of Food & Care Coalition. “We’ve dedicated our whole purpose to creating affordable housing for one of the most underserved and overlooked groups of people. We now have a place—72 places to be exact—that they can call home while they get back on their feet.”  

The Candlelight Villas were designed around a pocket neighborhood concept, meaning the housing units are arranged around a shared common area that will be accompanied with wrap-around support services and security. 

“It was important that, in addition to creating a place people could call home, we also created a sense of community,” said Crane. “Creating something that can serve as a space to gather is a huge and meaningful addition to the new permanent housing units, as well as to the other 30-unit transitional housing facility where we have only been able to provide help on a short-term basis.”  

As part of the new housing and communal space, the doTERRA Center for Service was also constructed. The doTERRA Center for Service will enhance and expand community collaboration on campus that will further the Food & Care Coalition’s impact on poverty, serve as a place where community members can participate in community service opportunities with those living on premise, and empower clients’ knowledge base and self-determination through evidence-based curriculum offerings. 

“One of doTERRA’s core purposes is to empower people and communities in their pursuit of self-reliance. Because the Food & Care Coalition has over three decades of proven success alleviating hunger and diminishing the plights of poverty in Utah County, doTERRA knew a partnership would benefit the whole community,” said Missy Larsen, Vice President of Philanthropy at doTERRA.  “The expansive resources offered on location to help residents on their journey to self-sufficiency offer unique support. Most importantly, the new doTERRA Center for Service will be a place where those living onsite can connect with those from the greater community, including doTERRA Wellness Advocates and employees, to engage in service projects together.” 

“Home is more than just a roof over someone’s head; it’s a place of safety, a place of security, and a place to serve each other,” said Crane. “That’s what we hope these housing units, this communal space, and the doTERRA Center for Service will be for so many people who have never had a place to call home.” 

Explore the history of the Candlelight Villas project and discover how you can serve Utah County’s homeless here. 

About the Food & Care Coalition 
The mission of the Food & Care Coalition is to alleviate hunger and diminish the plights of poverty for those who enter our doors. Our primary objectives include finding suitable housing, teaching financial accountability, facilitating an elevation in personal morals and values, and helping each patron achieve their full potential. 

We believe in the inherent worth of people and embrace the philosophy that trusting relationships between patron, staff, and volunteer are vital in realizing this end. In order to succeed, charity and compassion from the community must be met by accountability and a personal desire to learn and grow by those served. The Food & Care Coalition by design, offers daily opportunities for the community to support, influence and participate both in the policy making and operation of agency programs to meet these objectives. 

This approach creates an environment where homeless men, women, and children can restore their self-esteem, retain their human dignity, and regain the power and abilities necessary to become self-sufficient and productive members of our community. To learn more, visit https://foodandcare.org/. 

About dōTERRA 
dōTERRA International is an integrative health and wellness company and the world leader in the Global Aromatherapy and Essential Oils market. dōTERRA sources, tests, manufactures and distributes CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade essential oils and essential oil products to over nine million dōTERRA Wellness Advocates and customers. Through industry leading responsible sourcing practices, dōTERRA maintains the highest levels of quality, purity and sustainability in partnership with local growers around the world through Cō-Impact Sourcing. The dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, offers resources and tools to global sourcing communities and charitable organizations for self-reliance, healthcare, education, sanitation, and the fight against human trafficking. Through the life-enhancing benefits of essential oils, dōTERRA is changing the world one drop, one person, one community at a time. To learn more, visit www.doTERRA.com.