Town Pump aids Havre Food Bank with matching contributions

The Havre Food Bank will be getting double money for contributions made between now and the end of November.

Town Pump Charitable Foundation will match contributions to the food bank up to $7,500.

Town Pump locations around the Havre area will be collecting contributions as well.

This is the 14th annual "Be a Friend in Deed Helping Those in Need," fund-raising campaign sponsored by Town Pump.

"This comes at a great time for us," said Lorna Bjerga, manager of the Havre Food Bank.

Contributions tend to wane when fall arrives, she said, while need picks up.

The food bank is beginning to prepare for the Thanksgiving baskets it assembles for families in need.

Money donated through the Town Pump program will be used to buy food, she said.

People donate a lot of food to the food bank, she said, but the staff has to purchase some food that people can't donate.

The money will also be used to pay overhead for the food bank, she said.

Upkeep, electrical bills and other such expenses add up, she said.

Since 2002, Montana's food banks have received $3.25 million under the Town Pump program.

A press release from Town Pump quoted the United States Department of Agriculture as saying 14.5 percent of Montanas experienced "food insecurity" in 2011, the most recent year figures were available. Food insecurity means families did not have the ability to access food in a consistent manner, "resulting in reduced quality of variety of diet."

At the same time, 5.4 percent of Montanans experienced hunger, meaning they had to reduce food intake or skip meals because they didn't have money for food.