Food bank seeks Thanksgiving food donations

North Valley Food Bank is seeking help from the community by asking for donations to help put a Thanksgiving dinner on the table for those in need.

Last week the food bank saw its highest number of customers serving 290 households in one week. Nationwide supply-chain challenges are also directly affecting food banks this year.

“Normally, we buy Thanksgiving food in bulk but this year we are scrambling to find certain food items, like turkeys, cranberry sauce, and stuffing,” said Lauren Jarrold, director of operations for the food bank.

The food bank is asking the community to donate fresh and frozen turkeys, turkey breasts, stuffing, cranberry sauce, canned green beans, brown sugar, sugar, flour, holiday spices, salt and pepper, pie filling, boxed pie crust, gravy mix, dehydrated potatoes, canned yams, fresh potatoes and yams, butter and other Thanksgiving favorites. Turkeys are especially needed.

Non-perishable items such as boxed and canned goods are accepted between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday through Friday, while perishable foods should be dropped off the week before Thanksgiving on Nov. 15-19.

Volunteers are also needed to help pack Thanksgiving boxes and to help with distribution.

To sign up visit www.northvalleyfoodbank.org and or contact Anya, the North Valley Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator, at anya@northvalleyfoodbank.org or 406-862-5863.

The Thanksgiving drive-thru food distribution will be held on Monday, Nov. 22, and Tuesday, Nov. 23, from noon to 6 pm. In addition to Thanksgiving food, all customers will receive normal weekly groceries. The grocery store will be closed during the week of Thanksgiving and reopen the following week for normal distribution hours.

North Valley Food Bank is located at 251 Flathead Avenue in Whitefish. For more information on Thanksgiving needs, contact Lauren Jarrold, Director of Operations, atlauren@northvalleyfoodbank.org or 406-862-5863 (press 2).