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.