North Valley Food Bank in Whitefish Expands Hours to Meet Demand

Amid federal funding cuts, and a simultaneous uptick in pantry visits, the North Valley Food Bank (NVFB) said in a recent press release that it is expanding its hours effective immediately.

In a social media post, the Whitefish food bank described its new store hours as having been determined by a customer survey to identify days and times that work best for their schedules. The additional hours mean that the food bank has more volunteer shifts to fill, according to the post.

The new hours are Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to. 6 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The change represents the addition of another day of grocery store availability, and five more total hours of opening for the store each week.

Pantry visits for the first quarter of 2025 have totaled 6,240, which is a 20% increase from the same period last year, according to the food bank. NVFB operates a free grocery store in Whitefish, and mobile pantries in Essex, Olney and Trego. The nonprofit is also a northwest Montana food hub, and makes pantry delivers to FAST Blackfeet in Browning, the Bigfork Food Bank, and pantries in Yaak, Eureka, Libby and Troy.

“New opening hours will ensure that our neighbors can access the food bank’s services in a safe environment without extensive wait times and will prepare the food bank for an anticipated further increase in visits as federal budget proposals could cut SNAP, Medicaid and school meal benefits and push even more families to our doors,” the press release says.

At the same time, the North Valley Food Bank is encouraging people to donate volunteer hours or money, saying in the announcement that it is facing federal funding cuts and freezes. “The ability to expand open hours relies on the continued generosity of our communities.”

In a guest column published by the Flathead Beacon in early April, NVFB Executive Director Sophie Albert wrote that the USDA’s cancellation of a $500 million in funding from the The Emergency Food Assistance Program’s (TEFAP) Commodity Credit Corporation program would amount to a 40% decrease of TEFAP food for the food bank, which equals about 100,000 pounds of food annually.

“At the current distribution level, we would need to raise more than $250,000 in private funding — a significant challenge that would exceed our fundraising capacity,” Albert wrote.

CBS MoneyWatch reported in March that the cuts came as the Trump Administration and Elon Musks’ Department of Governmental Efficiency sought to cut federal funding to reduce what they saw as wasteful government spending.

“Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in [Commodity Credit Corporation] funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact,” a USDA spokesperson told CBS in an emailed statement.

In addition to the North Valley Food Bank, other local food assistance programs were expecting a loss of funding because of federal cuts. The Flathead Food Bank’s Executive Director Chris Sidmore said that his organization had historically received $23,000 a month through the TEFAP grant.

The Montana Free Press reported in early April that the cuts amounted to a loss of more than 300,000 pounds of food statewide for food banks, including for western Montana food banks like the Missoula Food Bank, which was set to lose 91,000 pounds of food, or $180,000 in inventory from the cuts.

Albert’s also cited the recent discontinuation of the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement, which assisted food bank purchases of fresh food from local farmers, as potentially undercutting the food bank’s ability to supply as much fresh produce as it has in the past, while also representing a financial blow to local farmers.

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