Mineral County Food Bank sends out more than 700 pounds of turkey

Nick Ianniello

Mineral Independent

Thanks to some hard work and friendly faces at the Mineral County Food Bank, many Mineral County Families that may not have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year got to go home with a nice big bird to stuff in the oven.

"It was absolute chaos," said Mineral County Food Bank Manager Mary McClammy about the work of seven volunteers last Monday morning.

The Mineral County Food Bank gave out nearly 50 turkeys that amounted to more than 700 pounds of meat at their Superior location last Monday, to Mineral County families in need.

"We take families and individuals from the whole county," McClammy said.

The birds were donated by Eagle 93, a radio station based out of Missoula that raised money to bring in turkeys to needy families throughout Western Montana.

In previous years the food bank has only been able to give out a few turkeys that they bought with their own funds. However, in the past two years with the help of Eagle 93 the food bank has been able to assist many more families in Mineral County.

McClammy said that since the turkeys did not come in to the food bank until Monday afternoon, they had to call many families and let them know that their birds had arrived.

The Mineral County Food Bank is a private organization that is a member of the Montana Food Bank Network and has been serving the residents of Mineral County since 1991.

Those that qualify for assistance through federal regulations can come to the food bank and get food free of charge.

"We serve anyone that meets qualifications throughout Mineral County," McClammy said.

The Mineral County Food Bank is open from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, but they opened up last Monday to distribute turkeys to Mineral County families.

Anyone who was eligible for assistance through the food bank was eligible for a turkey. However McClammy said that they tried to get the birds out to bigger families.

"We especially work to get the birds into the families that have children," McClammy said.

The Mineral County Food Bank operates entirely off of donations, fundraisers and government funding and McClammy said that the organization is always in need of funding.

"We're always trying to raise money because the food just goes out faster than it comes in," McClammy said.

The Mineral County Food Bank spends around $1,000 per month on food, and also gets donated food as well as food from government sources.

However, with recent layoffs at the Tricon lumber mill in St. Regis and businesses in Missoula, McClammy says that more and more people are coming to rely on the Mineral County Food Bank to make it day to day.

"It's getting worse every month with all of the layoffs that are going around," McClammy said. "We're hoping that we can make it through the winter."

The Mineral County Food Bank is currently working with the Town Pump to raise funds. Town Pump has agreed to match funds raised by the food bank up to $2,500 and has placed out jars to collect money and has been taking donations from the community since September.

The Mineral County Food Bank had a booth to raise money set up at the Christmas Bazaar in Superior and the Wells Fargo Bank in Superior held a silent auction to raise money for the food bank.

McClammy said that she is unsure of exactly how much money the food bank has raised so far, but added that she is sure that they will reach the Town Pump's $2,500 mark and put the funds to good use.

"I do know that we're going to hit that mark," McClammy said.