Food bank nets well-timed donation

SANDPOINT — This donation is covering a lot of ground.

Not just because it came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' warehouse in Utah, or because it will benefit food banks throughout North Idaho. It's because the 22 pallets of basics from peanut butter to pasta delivered to the Bonner Community Food Bank also means that there will be fewer hungry people in the region.

"It came at a good time," said Debbie Love, executive director of the Bonner Community Food Bank. "We don't have a lot of donations during this time of year, or it at least slows down considerably."

While donations slow, the demand doesn't. While in the past demand was more seasonal, that isn't the case anymore, Love said. In addition to a steady need throughout the year, the numbers have increased as well. Last year, the Sandpoint-based food bank was serving 1,800 families a month at its highest point. Recent numbers put those helped at its Sandpoint and Priest River branches at over 3,000 families a month.

"It's everybody," Love said of those turning to the food bank. "Seniors, families, everyone. The cost of housing, cost of living, gas, everything's going up."

Contrary to claims those using the food bank are lazy, Love said residents are employed, struggling to make ends meet and only turn to the food bank when they've run out of options.

"We have people coming in all the time not wanting to but they don't have anywhere else to go," Love said last year. "They're very prideful people, especially the older generation, they, you know, grew up in a time when, during the Depression, or that time when they utilized every little thing. So when they get to that point, they think, 'Oh, a can of soup is just fine.' But really that's the only thing they have in their cupboard."

The food bank strives to offer fresh produce, with local gardeners contributing a variety of vegetables during summer. A "grocery rescue program" allows the food bank to receive still-edible items from local stores that are near expiration. 

Wednesday's donation from the LDS Church, the first received by the Sandpoint food bank since it was accepted into the program, will do a lot of good in the region. That community support is tremendously important to the food bank in helping it meet its mission of helping those in the community who need their services, she said.

The food is being shared between food pantries in Priest Lake and Clark Fork, Community Action Partnership facilities in Bonners Ferry and Coeur d'Alene, the Bonner Community Food Bank in Sandpoint and Priest River, and possibly the food bank in Post Falls.

"We are grateful to be able to share the bounty with surrounding pantries who feed our community," Love said.

Shelf-stable items sent to the North Idaho food banks include spaghetti, creamy chicken soup, peanut butter, dry and boxed milk, and flour.

Love said the food bank heard about the church's program to help food banks from the Post Falls Food Bank when they called saying they had gotten an extra pallet of butter and did the Sandpoint-based food bank want it. She did.

Going one better, the Kootenai County officials also connected Love with their contacts at the church so they could also apply to be part of the program.

Bonner County Community Food Bank applied to be part of the program several months ago, working its way through the process. Helping the process on the local level were John and Becky Rand and other local LDS members, who not only connected them with the appropriate parties but regularly turn out to help at the food bank.

Love said she was excited for the food bank to be chosen to be part of the program — and to be able to share the food received with other programs in the region. That, she said, means more people are being helped and fewer people are going hungry.

"It's a good feeling to be able to share," she added.

Those interested in helping should contact their local food bank. Volunteers are always needed as are donations of staples such as peanut butter and canned meat. Fresh produce and fruit from gardens are also welcomed, and can be dropped by the food bank, or arrangements made for it to be picked up, Love said.

For more information, contact the Bonner Community Food Bank at bonnerfoodbank.org or by calling 208-263-3663.

    Volunteers organized a Thursday donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into bundles being distributed to food banks in the region.
  

    Volunteers gather for a photo as they prepare to receive a donation of 22 pallets of shelf-stable basic groceries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.