BIGFORK – It doesn’t take long to tour the Bigfork Food Bank.
After walking in the door in the nondescript building near the intersection of highways 35 and 83, it just takes walking through one entryway to see the entire operation.
Shelves of food cramp the small room, and the distance between the shelves has shrunk so much that the volunteers can’t use carts to move the heavy bags and boxes of food.
Soon, though, the food bank will be able to truly blossom, to reach its full potential as an integral piece of the Bigfork community, when it moves into its new, much-larger building, located just next door.
“We are so blessed in this community,” food bank director Ann Tucker said while touring the building, which is under construction.
The food bank’s new home represents a new era for the community staple, which has been serving Bigfork-area families for 25 years. The move is logistically important, because Tucker said the need for the food bank’s services have only increased each year.
In 2014, food bank volunteers served an average of 110 families per month, or about 241 people, Tucker said. That equals roughly 34 tons of food.
The new building will have a waiting room, a walk-in freezer, a larger shopping area for clients, more bathroom space, ADA compliance, a separate area for receiving donations, and air conditioning. Otherwise, it will be largely austere, Tucker said, with cement floors and few bells or whistles.
A $65,000 donation from a donor who would prefer to remain anonymous helped the food bank purchase the property for its new building, and the contractors and subcontractors are working at slashed rates, Tucker said, but there is still work to be done.
The entire project is estimated to cost $365,000, and the food bank still needs about $265,000 to complete the building.
“We’re begging the community,” Sue Stuber, the food bank’s secretary and treasurer, said. “We really don’t want to have spend our money that we’d normally spend on food.”
Everyone who works at the food bank, including Tucker and Stuber, donates their time, and the program’s leadership hopes to receive continued support from the community that has helped them survive for nearly three decades.
Monetary donations of any amount can be sent to PO Box 850 in Bigfork, and anyone seeking to donate their time volunteering can call Tucker at 406-837-3179.
Otherwise, the food bank always needs food items, such as oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, and rice, and toiletries such as shampoo, soap, and toilet paper.
Stuber said the new building should be ready by the fall, and she is thrilled to be able to expand the food bank’s influence and services.
“We know it’s going to be worth every minute of our time,” she said.