While many are off on vacation or camping during these summer months, there are some in Great Falls who are not sure of where their next meal will come from.
“Hunger doesn’t take a vacation,” said Shaun Tatarka, executive director at the Great Falls Community Food Bank.
That’s the food bank’s message year-round, as they strive to help those in need, but summertime is when they need help from others.
“It’s kind of understandable. We know that people go out and again, summer is a time for fun, and that kind of stuff but we do struggle and this year is pretty typical,” said Tatarka.
The variety of food at the food bank is running a little lower than normal, according to Tatarka.
“And it isn’t drastically down by any stretch. It’s pretty typical for us to be down in the month of July and June, and we definitely are this year,” said Tatarka.
He said the worst isn’t even here yet, though. The beginning of August is usually when they see a hit.
“Those agencies come in and they look at our shelves and their bare,” said Tatarka. “They, in turn, can’t go back and feed their constituents. So yeah, it’s sad. We manage to get by, I mean, there’s definitely stuff on our shelves that they can pick up, it’s not like we’re completely empty. I don’t want to mislead anybody, but it’s just down. There’s not as much variety.”
He said they’re staying optimistic though.
“You know really, if someone can just come by and drop off some food or a check, or whatever they can do this summer, we would really appreciate it. We’re really blessed to live in this town because people do a good job of taking care of the less fortunate and we’ll get through the summer just fine, it’s just a struggle but we will manage,” said Tatarka.
The food bank is in need of cereal, canned tomato products, peanut butter and pasta.
They also accept monetary donations.
If you’d like to donate, send a cash donation to the Food Bank, or bring items to their location, call 452-9029, or visit them at 1620 12th Avenue North. Click here to visit the website.
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