Valley County Food Bank Continues Work Despite Challenges

The Valley County Food Bank, an all-volunteer organization, has found a way to keep serving those in the community who face food insecurity.

Dealing with the closure of most brick-and-mortar establishments in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, food bank volunteers came together on March 21 to gather and distribute necessary food to 111 households across the country in lieu of the normal pick-up date. Members of local churches, the Glasgow High School student council and the community set out with 6,496 pounds of food which was delivered to everyone who had registered with the food bank in January and February, as well as those homes who learned about the delivery and called to sign up.

"Mary Hughes was an organizer, and what a job!" said Pat Hallett, who has been a part of the Valley County Food Bank for 30 years. "Her and Becky Erickson [Glasgow mayor] were just awesome." Hughes and Erickson organized the volunteers who came to assist the food bank in this unique situation.

According to Glasgow Mayor Becky Ericskon, the group organized so many volunteers to help deliver the few tons of food that they had to call and cancel people who were scheduled to help.

Hallett explained that the food bank building is not very big and it gets quite crowded in the small space so, following CDC and county guidelines, they closed their doors to the public. Hughes and Erickson saw the necessity to get supplies to families in need and organized the delivery service.

She elaborated on what the food bank is facing at this time, telling the Courier that 111 households is "a really big number" for March, saying the month is usually not that busy. On an average month, approximately 75 to 80 families are registered and receive donations. "I'm sure we'll have more as this goes on," Hallett said.

She also praised all the volunteers who came out to assist the usual volunteers, striving to remember everyone who donated their time and service. Though she was unable to name everyone, she cited Leroy Siefert, Rod Karst with the GHS Student Council, Rick Thompson of the Methodist Church, Seth Runner and members of the Evangelical Church, and Seth Morehouse who picked up and delivered food to residents of Nemont Manor. There were so many more people, she said, but she was unable to keep track of everyone who took shifts, which were staggered to depart every 30 minutes to limit contact.

Hallett said the food bank is taking precautions as laid out by the Valley County Health Department and the CDC. They are using lots of sanitizing wipes, using what hand sanitizer they have, keeping distance as much as possible and some volunteers even wore masks. For the tight-knit volunteers, there was no handshaking or hugging this month.

Volunteers are adjusting to the constantly-changing situation as the COVID-19 virus spreads and measures are taken by local, state and federal officials to combat the respiratory disease. "We don't know exactly how we're going to do this," Hallett said about the possibility of continued social distancing. She did say that the food truck from Missoula will arrive as scheduled and the local food bank will have food for a while.

Hallett stressed that the food bank will continue to serve food-insecure families in the county despite what is going on "The food bank is a passion of mine. I'm almost 79 years old and have been doing this for 30 years," she said, "and I have to do it."

The Valley County Food Bank is soldiering on despite the unknown in this new reality. Though the food bank's scheduled delivery is still scheduled, Hallett stressed that they are also still accepting donations. She told the Courier monetary donations are always welcome so that they can purchase what they need or think they need.

Further, she wants the public to know that anyone facing food insecurity can call the food bank to sign up. Contact Pat Hallett at 263-3353 with any questions or to sign up for service.

For those who do not wish to sign up for the food bank or are not facing financial strain, yet find themselves in need of items such as pasta, canned goods and other basics, a group of community members have come together to set up a "Take What You Need, Leave What You Can" program.

Currently there are donation and pick-up spots at Soma Dis Deli in downtown Glasgow and the entryway of the Busted Knuckle Brewery, the latter of which will be open 24/7. The idea behind the project was to address a need, starting with a case of individually wrapped toilet paper rolls and moving on to encompass other basic necessities.

The individuals behind the project also hope that increased foot traffic, while maintaining appropriate social distancing, will help local businesses in uncertain times.

"Take What You Need, Leave What You Can" is completely anonymous and meant to help any and all who need it, complementing programs such as the Valley County Food Bank.