Since it was founded in 2010, the mission of the Family Shelter of the Bitterroot has been to provide comprehensive services to help circumstantially homeless families in the Bitterroot Valley achieve sustainable economic independence. As part of that effort they began the Community Meals Program, providing free meals for anyone in the community who needs one. With the help of local churches the non-denominational non-profit organization began offering a free meal each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Cornerstone Bible Church in Hamilton. They have been serving hundreds of meals annually ever since.
But things suddenly ground to halt when COVID-19 arrived in Montana. Gary Locke, Director of the Family Shelter, said that as things progressed it became evident that they could no longer continue to host dinners attracting from 50 to 80 people a night, so they were all set to shut down their operation when they got a call from the owner of the Triple Creek Ranch.
Locke said, “He asked, if Triple Creek Restaurant prepared the meals, could the Family Shelter see that it got distributed.” Locke said he didn’t hesitate to say yes, and a plan was made to turn the Cornerstone Bible Church into a drive-through pick-up for free meals during the coronavirus emergency.
According to Locke, it’s about a sixty-mile round trip to the restaurant to pick up the meals. They are put into to-go carriers and transported in warmed containers that meet sanitarian standards and delivered to the Cornerstone Bible Church in time for the 5:30 to 6:30 dinners on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The line of cars snakes around the parking lot before passing by the dispensing table where the meals are handed out.
Locke said that the arrangement called for a re-assessment of the operation at the end of April.
He was feeling a little concerned because at the first dinner on April 6 the number of dinners served was about the same as what it was for the sit-down dinners they used to have, around 80, but by last Thursday the number of dinners served had jumped to 128.
Locke said his concern dissipated when he called the restaurant and told them about the growing attendance. He was told that the restaurant would adjust their food orders and that they were going to postpone the restaurant’s opening and their chefs would be providing hot meals in Hamilton through May.
The Cornerstone Bible Church is located at 280 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. Donations to the Free Meals Program can be sent to the Family Shelter, P.O. Box 656, Hamilton MT 59840. The Washington Foundation is offering a challenge match grant of $1500.