Flathead Food Bank has surplus to give away

With reports of food shortages in some places around the country, the Flathead Food Bank has the opposite problem — more food than it knows what to do with.

In the past six weeks, the food bank has received more than 530,000 pounds of food, more than three times its average. While that food is being distributed to food banks in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Lakeside and beyond, more food is arriving weekly — literally tons of it.

With the sourcing of food a pressing concern at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the Flathead Food Bank agreed to partner with the Montana Food Bank Network to serve as a warehouse for food to be distributed throughout the Flathead Valley and Northwest Montana, doubling its storage space from 12,000 to 24,000 square feet.

“We are in a different position than most other places in the state or in the country because we are able to warehouse what we receive. Most food banks do not have the capacity to do that. We are very fortunate in that regard,” Flathead Food Bank Executive Director Jamie Quinn said. “It’s a great problem to have. We want people to keep utilizing us. We want the schools to keep coming to us. Anywhere with people that need food, we want help support them as much as possible.”

A large portion of the food coming in these days comes in the form of fresh produce and milk that would otherwise go to waste with the shutdown of restaurants and processing facilities. According to Quinn, each week the food bank receives 40 pallets of fresh produce, each containing 48 pre-packaged 25-pound boxes of carrots, cabbage, onions and potatoes. In addition, the food bank has also been receiving nearly 850 gallons of milk each week from Meadow Gold Dairies and expects to soon be receiving pre-packaged dairy boxes with milk, eggs, butter, yogurt and more.

Quinn said the public may not realize it, but the food bank offers large quantities of fresh foods that are available to everyone.

“People seem to think that food from a food bank is not the best quality. Yes, some of our food is expired. I’m not going to pretend that it is not, but most use-by dates are very arbitrary. With that being said, a lot of people don’t realize that we have fresh produce boxes and milk. We also have quite a bit of phenomenal meat, from chicken fillets to pork loins. We want to feed people healthy food and we have lots of it,” she said. “There are guidelines and restrictions during normal times, but right now those restrictions have been waived. This food is available to everyone. Normally we would track numbers more closely, but right now we just want to get this food out to those who need it. “There is nothing better than telling those in need that we have them covered and that the cost is zero.”

Located at 1203 U.S. 2 West in Kalispell, the Flathead Food Bank is currently open for curbside pickup from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays for those over the age of 60 who are in their vehicles and from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for those under the age of 60.

For more information, call the Flathead Food Bank at 406-752-3663 or visit them online at www.flatheadfoodbank.org.

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at jweber@dailyinterlake.com.