MISSOULA — There are racks of brown paper bags filled with everything you would need for a Thanksgiving meal at the Missoula Food Bank including turkeys, stuffing, potatoes, carrots and more.
Now members of the community who are in need of a Thanksgiving meal this holiday season, are able to drive through and pick one up.
Turkeys have been collected throughout the month of November, picked up, or dropped off at the food bank and then given out for over 15 years so people can celebrate Thanksgiving with their own turkey tom.
“Families who may be struggling are able to come to our food bank, pick up this traditional holiday meal and then you know, enjoy kind of this piece of normal and that I think that this year in particular is so important to people,” said Missoula Food Bank Development and Advocacy Director Jessica Allred.
With a total of 2,000 turkeys donated, 468 of them came from one trailer as Cherry Creek Media partnered with other local businesses to gather turkeys and donate them to the food bank.
“And that just means that we're able to use those resources to make sure that families have what they need this time of year,” said Allred.
Food insecurity is an issue in Missoula. Allred says that since March of 2020, 1-in-04 people in Missoula County need help from the food bank at least once throughout the year — a number that has gone up.
“So still a significant issue in our community. And we are and super positive is that we are seeing that need plateau," Allred told MTN News. "I'm in a way that we are not as busy this year as we were this time last year and that's really I think that's indicative of economic recovery.”
The food bank is still distributing food for Thanksgiving throughout the week and is still taking donations.
