NVFB hosts Forever June Celebration

North Valley Food Bank invites the public to the Forever June Celebration and Grand Reopening on Friday, June 10, from 5-8 p.m. The event will celebrate the food bank’s beloved late founder, June Munski-Feenan, the completion of the food bank capital campaign and its 45th anniversary. The mission of North Valley Food Bank is to build food security and strengthen communities.

The Forever June event is sponsored by Glacier Bank and Whitefish Credit Union. The event is free and will feature house-made pizza, salad and snacks from the food bank’s new commercial kitchen, a beer garden serving Sacred Waters brew on tap, live music by Jamie Wyman, tours of the completed facility, kids activities and face painting, as well as a raffle of a Nancy Cawdrey framed giclée Stella and the Star and her retrospective art book Sky’s the Limit. Additionally, folks will have the opportunity to participate in an auction of Cawdrey’s original silk painting, Well Fed.

The local award-winning artist, Cawdrey, has designed and created the 28x28 original silk painting Well Fed to benefit the food bank. The vibrant and colorful, 28x28 grizzly bear painting, valued at $7,500, has been generously donated by Cawdrey Gallery and is being professionally framed by FoR Fine Art in Whitefish, who is also donating the frame.

“I was inspired to donate a painting to raise funds for the North Valley Food Bank because the last couple of years have seen a huge increase in the need for food banks all over the country – and our valley is no different,” Cawdrey said. “Food is a basic human need, and somehow in this country, we have not adequately addressed this crucial need. If I can help in this small way, I am happy to do so. This was in my heart as I painted “Well Fed.”

Online bids for the painting will be accepted starting June 6 and ending June 20, 2022, at 5 p.m. In-person bids will also be accepted at the Forever June event. The painting will be on display at the Cawdrey Gallery in downtown Whitefish, 206 Lupfer Avenue, through June 20. The public is welcome to drop by to view this special painting.

To place your bid for a chance to win this stunning Nancy Cawdrey painting and help NVFB build food security in the northern Flathead Valley, text wellfed to 855-202-2100 or bid online at northvalleyfoodbank.rallyup.com/wellfed.

All funds raised through the auction will directly benefit North Valley Food Bank's services during these extraordinary times of uncertainty and economic hardship for many of our neighbors. North Valley Food Bank provides food assistance to 700 to 850 people weekly through its no-charge grocery store, drive-thru distribution, mobile pantries and senior deliveries in the northern Flathead and neighboring communities. In the past few months, they have seen more people turn to local food banks than at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 new families came to North Valley Food Bank in the first quarter of 2022 – a 69% increase in first-time customers from the previous year.

Along with the Forever June event and auction, the food bank will be holding a Food Drive from June 10 through June 30. You can donate non-perishable foods at designated bins in Whitefish grocery stores or onsite at North Valley Food Bank. Additionally, perishables can be received at the food bank Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

North Valley Food Bank is located at 251 Flathead Avenue in Whitefish. More information can be found at northvalleyfoodbank.org or on Facebook or Instagram.

Please contact Elizabeth Temple, Director of Development, elizabeth@northvalleyfoodbank.org or 406-862-5863 (Ext 1002) for more information about Forever June or the auction.