Whitefish food bank seeks kid-friendly items
Volunteers Kim Fredricks, Cheryl Jurgens and Babby McCartney prepare food at the North Valley Food Bank. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
This weekend the North Valley Food Bank in Whitefish will launch its fall food drive, Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat!
The community food drive will begin Saturday, Oct. 16, and culminate on Halloween, Oct. 31.
During this time, the food bank will be collecting kid-friendly, non-perishable items including canned tuna, macaroni and cheese, applesauce cups, cereal, oatmeal, nuts, crackers, peanut butter, fruit cups, popcorn, fruit snacks, soups, goldfish crackers, trail mix, granola bars, jellies, jerky, children’s vitamin, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
North Valley Food Bank continues to expand its reach distributing food in Whitefish and the surrounding counties. The food bank is committed to reaching kids and other vulnerable members of the northern Flathead to ensure they don’t go hungry this winter. Through the support of the community, NVFB is able to operate mobile pantries with a refrigerated truck that travels to Essex, Trego and Olney.
Due to an expanded warehouse and cooler capacity, the food bank is also able to store and deliver foodstuffs to communities that don’t have the ability to safely stockpile goods.
“Our customer base has tripled over the last two years, said executive director Sophie Albert. “Especially during the upcoming colder season, access to healthy food is challenging for our customers.”
While handing out candy is a fun Halloween ritual, the food bank is balancing this tradition by providing healthy, nourishing foods and requests no donated sweets.
Community members can find donation bins at Whitefish downtown businesses, schools and grocery stores. Look for the “bat signal” — the NVFB black and orange posters with a bat insigne — in the windows of participating businesses and grocery stores. The schools and downtown businesses will each be participating in a friendly competition to see who can collect the most food. The food bank is seeking individuals and families to collect and sort food donations. If interested in volunteering, visit the volunteer page on the website and complete a short application.
Contact Anya Brown, volunteer coordinator at anya@northvalleyfoodbank.org, or call 406-862-5863 if you have questions.
North Valley Food Bank is located at 251 Flathead Ave. in Whitefish.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Temple, director of development, at elizabeth@northvalleyfoodbank.org or 406-862-5863.