COLUMN: Project a sweet touch for firefighters
Diane Groves loves to bake.
And bake ... and bake.
Last summer the retired nurse wanted to do something sweet for wildland firefighters in Northwest Montana, so she launched the Peanut Project — a mega baking effort with the Herculean goal of supplying each firefighter with four to five cookies a day.
After seeing her son-in-law, a state fire crew leader for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, coming home exhausted from fighting fires all summer, she says she wanted to show all the firefighters at the DNRC and U.S. Forest Service how much the community appreciated and supported them. Her daughter also used to work for the DNRC.
Groves is a seasoned baker and sells her baked goods along with her herbs and plants from her business, The Herb Garden, at area farmers markets. After doing that five days a week for about nine years, she decided to focus exclusively on the Bigfork Farmers Market. Even that requires two long days of baking before market day, not to mention the time and patience she puts into growing healthy starter plants and fresh produce.
Last summer she put her passion for baking to the fire and began cranking out hundreds of peanut butter/oatmeal raisin cookies to supply the crews with a little extra energy and protein — and a lot of TLC — that they could pack with them in the field.
The community came on board with donations of time, money and ingredients. Mark Blasdel, owner of Vista Linda, donated kitchen space one night for a 500-cookie baking soiree with her friend Doreen Hay (who also is Blasdel’s sister).
Students at Kalispell Middle School’s cooking classes joined in and baked 1,168 cookies. And businesses and nonprofits across the valley reached out with classic Flathead generosity, which all together added up to a whole lot more than mere peanuts.
By the time the ovens — and fires — cooled off in late September, firefighters had gobbled up more than 5,000 cookies thanks to Groves’ Peanut Project.
“I can’t possibly put into words how appreciative I am of all those that helped and donated to this project,” Groves said. “I could not have possibly done it without them.”
In the event of another fire season this year, Groves hopes to continue the Peanut Project and would again need donations of ingredients, gift certificates, the use of commercial kitchens, help from community organizations in baking and monetary donations. Any food left over will be donated to the food bank and any leftover money will be donated to the Flathead Youth Home and/or Sparrow’s Nest of Northwest Montana, an alternative to homelessness for local high school students.
To make a donation to this year’s effort, send a check c/o Diane Groves, P.O. Box 7302, Kalispell, MT 59904 and write “The Peanut Project” on the memo line.
For more information, contact Groves at 257-2547 or email bigskyherbs@gmail.com.
Community editor Carol Marino may be reached at 748-4440 or by email at community@dailyinterlake.com.