As a community we have come to expect Shaud Schwarzbach and his team at North West Farm Credit to step forward and help the Big Sandy community with projects that probably could not get completed without help.
Well, according to Erik Sietsema and the Big Sandy Food Bank, the North West Farm Credit team has hit one out of the ball park this month.
The Farm Credit organization has decreed September 21, 2016 as the day that the Chuck Wagon from the Montana Food Pantry in Missoula rolls into town to help with extra food for those in need in our area.
North West Farm Credit is by nature agriculture related so their focus is on food but more than usual this year. Each employee in the Farm Credit office was given $300.00 to help out with special food needs in the area. In the Havre office, the employees have pooled their recourses which caused the Montana Food Pantry Chuck Wagon to be in Big Sandy this month.
The Chuck Wagon is like a Farmer’s Market on wheels giving out card board boxes of food which should last a family a month. In addition there is bakery goods and produce available on the Chuck Wagon.
This is a project near and dear to North West Farm Credit as they ponied up the money to buy the Chuck Wagon truck in the first place.
The Havre office is so committed that they will have support staff running their office on September 21 and they will be in Big Sandy helping with distribution of food to those who need it most.
Erik Sietsema, who along with a large group of volunteers, run the Big Sandy Food Bank out of the Big Sandy Church of God, said that the needs for food are growing in Big Sandy just like in other places around Montana.
There has been great publicity in the fact that many Montana kids go to bed hungry every night. That goes for whole families and that is where the Big Sandy Food Bank can step in and help the situation.
Now long ago, “The Mountaineer” used to report that around sixteen people got help from the local Food Bank. Sietsema said that these days, some months are up to as many as forty persons or families looking for assistance.
Help came from a ministry in Great Falls who helps in distributing produce and bread to Big Sandy once a month to help out. And, as Sietsema and his team say, this community is very generous in giving what they can to help the Big Sandy Food Bank.
Some food is delivered to needy people who don’t want people to know that they need assistance. That will continue and will be in force on September 21.
One thing is for sure regarding the September 21 food distribution. Persons needing food must fill out a short form. That form can be found at the end of this article in “The Mountaineer” this week. Just fill out the form and drop it off at “The Grocery Store” or contact Terry Grant or Erik Sietsema at 399-3803.
One other thing. With no school breakfast and lunches from Thursday until Monday due to the four day school week, there are some children who suffer because of this. Shaud Schwarzbach said that this might be a good time for North West Farm Credit and maybe someone like Rotary to look into the Montana back pack program which gives a weekend’s worth of food to kids who need it.
A form to fill out is on page 3.
