Volunteers Needed for North Valley Food Bank’s Fall Fruit Harvest
The food bank hosts its annual wildlife awareness and community harvest event to gather fruit from trees throughout Whitefish
By Beacon Staff
The North Valley Food Bank (NVFB) is looking for volunteers for its city-wide Fall Fruit Harvest on Sept. 10.
The food bank hosts its annual wildlife awareness and community harvest event to gather fruit from trees throughout Whitefish. The project is a partnership between NVFB and the City of Whitefish, which manages more than 20 fruit trees. It aims to limit human-wildlife conflict by deterring bears from coming into town while providing fresh produce to food bank customers.
“It provides nutritious local food to the families and individuals we’re currently serving, and at the same time helps minimize human-bear conflict,” NVFB AmeriCorps VISTA member Alyssa Foote, who is managing the project, said in a press release. “We’re excited to continue partnering with the city of Whitefish to feed our neighbors in need while reducing wildlife encounters.
The family friendly event will take place on Sept. 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers meet at North Valley Food Bank at 251 Flathead Ave. in Whitefish to pick up harvesting supplies and receive their tree location assignment. All volunteers should return to NVFB after finishing picking to drop off harvested fruit.
“Last year alone, the project yielded around 1,500 pounds of fruit,” Foote said. “With our commercial kitchen, we’ll be able to process and distribute the harvested fruit to customers during the leaner months of winter.”
Volunteers can sign up on the NVFB website. For more information or questions about the event, contact [email protected] or call 406.862.5863, ext: 1006.