May Day soup drive to help restock Bigfork Food Bank

The Bigfork Food Bank is hosting a drive-thru soup drive on Friday, May 1 from 2-5 p.m. During the May Day Soup-raiser donations of canned soup, soup mixes or soup in cartons will be accepted. The food bank is not asking for contributions of individual ingredients at this time since the idea behind the drive is to limit the amount of time volunteers spend sorting items.

“They have no constant source of soup and they could always use it,” said drive organizer Debbie Ingram.

“I know that they really emptied the shelves on April 7,” Ingram noted.

The food bank was open for just one day in the month of April to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure for food bank volunteers. Ingram hopes the drive will help the organization restock their shelves.

Donors are also asked to decorate their cars in the spirit of May Day, a celebration of the spring season. Participants should enter the parking lot near Half to Have It, just south of where the Bigfork Food Bank is located on Montana 35, so they can proceed parade-style through the drive thru. Volunteers will be stationed in the food bank parking lot to accept donations so drivers don’t have to leave their cars.

“Just watching the news and seeing how hard food banks are being hit all over the country, the food bank just came to mind as something I could do,” Ingram said of organizing the soup drive. “I just know people are hurting — people need help — this is so easy.”