Food giveaway planned Friday

The Daily Inter Lake

Five tons of fresh and packaged free food will be distributed Friday during a special two-hour giveaway at the Albertsons parking lot in Kalispell.

The Montana Food Bank Network, in partnership with Flathead Food Bank and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, is sponsoring the event that is "open to anyone who considers themselves in need," said Susan Jamerson of the state network.

Food will be given away from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the parking lot, 900 West Idaho Street. Recipients don't need to bring any form of eligibility documentation, but the giveaway is geared to limited-income households.

Thrivent Financial gave the vehicle - called the Hometown Help Truck - to the state network to help bring emergency food to rural communities.

An inaugural food giveaway recently in Missoula was so popular that a second truckload of food had to be brought in, Jamerson said.

The Kalispell giveaway is the second such event for the network; a third giveaway is planned this fall in Great Falls. Jamerson said she hopes it can be conducted in Kalispell and other cities on a quarterly basis.

The Montana Food Bank Network, headquartered in Missoula, secures and distributes nearly 3.5 million pounds of donated and low-cost food and grocery products annually to 189 hunger-relief agencies throughout the state.