Food pantry gets support boost to help meet demands
A spike in the number of people in need
going to the Bigfork Food Pantry could have been a major concern
for those who run it, but instead the pantry has been overwhelmed
with support and donations from the local community.
Pantry director Sue Stuber said she has
been floored by how many community groups and local businesses have
approached her about ways to give.
“The community has just stepped up to
the plate,” she said. “I’ve had so many calls. The Bigfork
community is our whole backbone, as usual.”
As an example, the pantry received some
larger donations, including one from the relatives of a local man
who is recently deceased that is meant to cover all the meat for
the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. The pantry is scheduled to
give out about 80 baskets for Thanksgiving next week.
“When I saw the check, it was
unbelievable,” Stuber said. “I went and ordered all we needed.”
All of that is good news, considering
that the demand at the food pantry has doubled from what it was
prior to the recession.
Need really jumped in October through
December last year, and Stuber, based on usual trends, anticipated
that it would go down again in February, but that never happened.
So far, the pantry has given out 40,000 pounds of food in the first
10 months of the year.
“We used to have 20 to 25 clients at a
distribution and now we have 40 clients,” she said.
Clients means those with cards, which
can represent anywhere from a single person up to a family of nine.
In total, the pantry is serving about 120 people regularly. These
trends aren’t specific to Bigfork, which is a branch of the
Flathead Food Bank that also has locations in Evergreen, Marion and
Martin City in addition to the main location in Kalispell. Stuber
said that in talking with other branch food banks, they’ve all seen
a rise in need, particularly at the main location in Kalispell.
The biggest change Stuber has noticed
is the demographics of those she’s serving. The food pantry used to
serve predominantly senior couples, but now there’s a large influx
in the number of young families with small children, she said. In
talking with her clients, she’s discovered that most of those
additions have been due to unemployment.
To help meet the demand, the food
pantry has added on an extra hour to its distribution days, which
are the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. That extends the
hours to 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Even with the out pour of support, the
pantry does have some specific needs. The pantry tends to get in a
fair amount of canned goods, so needs are usually for items like
flour, sugar and rice. Recently, it’s also been low on items like
macaroni and cheese, which didn’t use to be the case. Stuber
attributes it to perhaps the younger family clientele coming to the
pantry as of late.
Another big need is for common hygiene
and toiletry items.
“A lot of people look at us as just a
supplier of food, but we get asked for toilet paper and shampoo all
the time... things a lot of us take for granted,” she said. “If
you’re hungry and you’re going to make your dollar stretch, you’re
definitely going to feed your belly first.”
The Bigfork Food Pantry is anticipating
a big day Friday, as at least two local groups are gathering up
donations.
Bigfork High School kicked of its
annual food drive at the beginning of the week, with final
collections taking place Friday.
Also on Friday, Bee Broadcasting will
be hosting its annual food drive at area grocery stores, including
Harvest Foods. A truck will at the store from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to
collect donations.
Residents can also make donations any
time by calling 837-2297 to arrange a drop off or pick up. Monetary
donations can be mailed to PO Box 850, Bigfork, MT, 59911.