WEEKLY DISTRIBUTIONS : Started in the basements of the 7th Day Adventists Church and Bethlehem Lutheran Church in 1982 with help from the Salvation Army, the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), and The Emergency Food Allocation Program (EFAP). Distributions are currently on Tuesday and Thursday at the main Kalispell pantry, and weekly or bi-weekly at the satellite pantries. Clients are allowed 12 times a year in Kalispell, and 24 times a year at the satellite pantries due to the limited amounts of resources that they have in their towns. In order to be eligible, your family needs to fall within 150% of the poverty level or less.

SENIOR COMMODITIES PROGRAM: This is the only "delivered" program that we have at the Flathead Food Bank. The program is offered to people 60 years or older that have a monthly income that is 135% of the poverty level or less. When eligible, the Flathead Food Bank and its volunteers deliver 2 bags of groceries, weighing in at an average of 35 pounds usually on the last Monday and Tuesday of each month. The Agency on Aging is our partner in this program and more information can be obtained by calling the Flathead Food Bank at 752-3663 or the Agency on Aging at 758-5730.
*Update - 2010 Program Expansion opens opportunity to hundreds of Flathead Seniors*

FIVE YEAR OLD PROGRAM: The Five-year old program was designed specifically for children that are 5 years old. When a child is five, they are no longer eligible for the WIC (Women, Infant & Children) program, but traditionally, they are not in school where they are eligible to receive the discounted or free breakfast and lunch program. Therefore, the government created this program for the year span between the two programs to help families with children that are five. Families can come in once a month the whole time their child is five to get 2 bags of food weighing in at about 40 pounds. We ask that bags be picked up the first week of the month due to the space restrictions that we currently have. Click here to see the eligibility requirements for this program, which are 185% of the poverty level.

HOLIDAY MEAL PROGRAM: The Flathead Food Bank works hard all year collecting holiday food to be given as meals for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. We have a week long radio contest with KOFI Radio in November, and collect turkeys to give to all of our families. In 2007 we served over 700 families a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, and then we started over and did it again for Christmas! It is a very busy time for us and we work closely with our valley churches and other meal suppliers to make sure that we are not duplicating efforts.