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News you can use
From left, Kori Holdorff, 11, Sam Nimmick and Savanah Atencio, 13, put away donations Saturday, May 11 at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Tazz Doney hands a canned good to Savanah Atencio, 13, while organizing donations Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Kori Holdorff takes a cart off food around and organizes donations Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Postal bins full of food sit in the bed of a truck before being put away Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Savanah Atencio, 13, hauls a crate of donations into the back of a trailer Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
The back of a trailer is filled with crates full of food Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
From left, Tazz Doney, Savanah Atencio, 13, Sam Nimmick and Gerda Mullner organize food donations before putting them away into crates Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Mail carrier Christina Cogar and volunteer Mylie Atencio, 11, carry donations from the back of Cogar's mail truck Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
Sam Nimmick, manager of the Havre Food Bank, helps put away donations Saturday at the District 4 HRDC building in Havre.
In conjunction with local United States Postal Service workers, the Havre Food Bank collected 2,913 pounds of non-perishable food items Saturday, May 11, as part of the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Sam Nimmick, director of the Havre Food Bank, said the drive collected 249 more pounds than last year and that it is at least the fourth year in a row that Havre's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has increased its total collection.
"Every year that I've been here, we've gone up in numbers," she said. "I think that every year our community seems to be giving more and more. And this year was a real struggle for a lot of people with that government shutdown. I think the knowledge of that made everybody more willing to help out."
Nimmick said the drive is a crucial boon for the Food Bank because it falls so far from the holiday season. Food donations tend to increase in the fall and winter, so a drive in the late spring is important to keep the Food Bank shelves stocked.
The drive was stationed at the District 4 Human Resources Development Council Building, where postal workers dropped off the collections from their routes throughout the day and volunteers from HRDC and the Food Bank helped sort, weigh and pack the thousands of pounds of food. More than a week later, much of the food has yet to hit the Food Bank shelves because of the massive amount of donations collected.
Nimmick said no plans are in place for any food drives in the summer, but the annual Town Pump drive will begin in September.
One springtime staple for the Food Bank, the Ford Peanut Butter Drive, is not being held this year, but Nimmick encourages anybody who wishes to donate peanut butter or other non-perishable food items to donate directly to the food bank.
The Food Bank accepts donations from about 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, and those who cannot stop by the bank during those times can also leave donations at the HRDC building on the south end of town at 2229 Fifth Ave.
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