I approached the parking lot of Big Sandy Church of God, watching as cars quickly filled the parking lot and the roadside. Half a dozen volunteers run to cars carrying boxes of food and checking names off the official count list. The food distribution is part of a program that is providing relief to communities across the country during the COVID lockdown. For the past nine weeks, the Farmers To Families Food Box Program has been distributing food boxes to Big Sandy families, providing needed relief for the shortfall in our community.
Farmers To Families is a USDA program that buys produce from farmers to distribute to families during the pandemic. Thus far, they have distributed over 50 million boxes of food. Food distributed in Chouteau County is coordinated through the Chouteau County Food Bank and is distributed to Big Sandy, Geraldine, Highwood, Big Sandy, and Fort Benton. In Big Sandy alone, 62 families are served by this program, covering 240 people. Terry Grant carefully tracks the number of recipients and reports this information back to the organization distributing the boxes. Currently, the program is scheduled to continue into October.
LeaAnne Williams, who helps with transporting food to Big Sandy, describes the process: "It's us, Big Sandy, Geraldine, Highwood, and Fort Benton. We all take turns going to Great Falls, because the truck actually comes into Great Falls at the Salvation Army Warehouse. We have to go there and pick up for all the towns and then deliver them down to Fort Benton. It all gets separated there, going to the separate towns from there." Every Thursday, each community sends a volunteer to pick up their share of the boxes for distribution.
Terry, who has been coordinating local efforts, emphasizes that this is not a part of the local food bank, though it has filled in the gap left by the temporary stop of Saturday perishable food distribution since the start of quarantine. The Big Sandy Food Bank continues to meet community needs with its regular monthly food distributions.
Big Sandy receives 35 boxes of food each week, containing a variety of food items. The contents of the boxes are classified "Produce" (vegetables, fruit) and "Combination" (meat, cheese, milk, butter, and vegetables). Food contained in the boxes alternates from dairy and meat products one week to vegetables the next. In order to meet the large demand, people take turns receiving boxes and splitting boxes. Some of this distribution is based on the number of people in each household and families that are already sharing food.
Locally, Terry has had plenty of help with the distribution of food. Volunteers deliver boxes to families that cannot pick them up, as well as to the homes farther out of town. Leanne and Terry, as well as Ceci Bjornestad make the runs to Fort Benton to pick up food, and others come out to help with handing out boxes to families who come in to pick them up.
"One of the big positives I've seen is, we've had families who needed the help and weren't stepping forward," Terry explained. "At the start, we had an extra box. I took it to a family and found out some things that were more than rewarding." He went on to explain how he learned that families are sharing the food they received with others. Recipients are looking out for the needs of their neighbors. Our town is taking care of its own.
Terry is continuing to investigate other resources to bring more food to the area. There are several promising options that could significantly increase the available resources. In the coming weeks, he will be learning more.
The program is open to anyone who requests a box of food. There is no expectation that recipient households be receiving aid through the food bank or minimum income requirements. Anyone interested in receiving food through the Farmers To Families program in Big Sandy should contact Terry at 406-390-2922.
