Danielle Switalski

 

Families everywhere are putting their Halloween costumes back in the closet and looking ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  As the holiday season approaches, the food banks in Sanders County are preparing for an even higher increase in families coming to their doors for food.

The food banks have been struggling to keep food on their shelves as it flies off as quickly as it comes.  The Montana Food Bank Network, which supplies Thompson Falls, Plains, Trout Creek and Hot Springs with their provisions have increased their food supplies to the county tremendously in the past few years.  Reports show that the MT Food Bank Network has increased food distribution to Sanders County by 121% [pgrimes] comparing January to October 2008 to the same months in 2009.

According to Peggy Grimes, Executive Director of the MT Food Bank Network, in 2008 they provided Sanders County with 128,994 pounds of food and this year they have provided 285,153 pounds of food.  These numbers do not include the months of November and December.

Plains Assembly of God food bank received 63,208 pounds of food in 2008 between January and October, this year they have received 123,210 pounds of food. 

Grimes said in years past, the MT Food Bank Network brought food to Sanders County as part of a full truck distribution from Superior to Noxon.  This year, due to the increased need for food, the route had to be split into two separate routes, one from Superior to Plains and another from Plains to Noxon.  This is in direct correlation with the increased need for food. 

So how are the food banks preparing for an even bigger increase in need as the holidays approach? 

To start, the MT Food Bank Network went to the State[pgrimes]  Legislature for support for their program, which provided $1.5 million dollars[pgrimes]  a year for the next two years to help with food purchases.  The MT Food Bank Network also started doing a Mobile Pantry Program by distributing food to people who need it, instead of having people come to the food banks.  The Mobile Pantry Program means volunteers find a place in the community and bring a truckload of food to a particular location and simply hand it out. 

“People are willing to stand in line for two to three hours for food, so we know they need it, no one is going to wait in line that long if they don’t need food,” said Grimes.

The Food Bank Network is trying to get supplies out to all of the food banks throughout the state by November 20 so no one goes hungry for the holidays. 

As for the local food banks, Thompson Falls has been keeping afloat because of the MT Food Bank Network and through donations.  This year they had received a $5,000 donation from a local business. 

“We’re doing well financially, fortunately and we are going through a lot of money, there’s no question about it, and whether or not our economy is going to do us in or not is another story,” said President of the Thompson Falls food bank, Denny Pargeter. 

Pargeter spends much of his time shopping around to find the lowest food prices to keep the shelves stocked. 

The Town Pump is currently holding their 8th annual food bank fundraiser and will match up to $2000 collected from September 1 through November 30 for both the Thompson Falls and Noxon food banks, totaling $4,000 in matching gift funds, which help the food banks get through the holiday season. 

Pargeter said they will do the best they can to feed every family that comes through their door during the holidays.  The local churches also help out families by supplying them with turkeys each year. 

Plains food bank has been staying strong through the economic hard times.  They rely heavily on fund raisers done by the churches and local Cub Scouts group as they buy half of their food every month, with the other half coming in from the MT Food Bank Network, said head of the Plains food bank, Shannon Allen.  The Cub Scouts fund raiser is the biggest one of the year for the Plains Food Bank.

The Plains town pump is also doing its own matching fund raiser and will match up to $3000 raised by the food bank. 

As for the holidays, Allen is confident they will have enough food for any family that comes through their door.  Although she does not think they will have turkeys for the families over the holidays, they will have enough food to provide to people. 

The Plains food bank serves around 150 to 200 families every month, a significant increase, said Allen, from past years.

The Plains food bank is located at the Assembly of God church and is open Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Questions or comments on this story can be directed to Reporter Danielle Switalski by emailing her at reporter@VP-MI.com or by calling her at 826-3434