Another successful Kiwanis food program

by John Dowd

Last week the Bitterroot Valley Kiwanis held their annual holiday food drive event, where they filled boxes for over 300 families. Ed Eldridge, a Kiwanis member on the local Kiwanis club board of directors, spoke about the event. 

Eldridge has been with the club for close to 20 years and this was the first time he was in charge of the event. According to him, not only is this the club’s biggest service project of the year, but, “there’s a need and we want to help,” said Eldridge. 

Kiwanis is about youth, and teaching community service as well as helping youth grow with mentorship. For Eldridge, it is integral that these young people help because it “shows them how to be selfless. Too many kids think there has to be a dollar attached to helping.”

The club has been doing this holiday food box event for over 40 years, and it is a three-day ordeal. Dozens of youth volunteers from both Hamilton and Stevensville came out to help, and did so in a big way. Most of the youth participants were from middle school, and loaded boxes on Friday, after the food was picked up and prepped the day before. Everyone lined up and started circling with carts, filling each box that would then be handed out to families in need on Saturday. 

Families could choose to have food boxes delivered, or they came out to pick up boxes at Hamilton High School, where everything was put together. Members said it takes the volunteers about three to four hours to pack all the boxes on Friday .

Kiwanis volunteers gave out two boxes per family, and there were over 300 families. Along with the boxes, there was also a lot of extra stuff like ham or chicken, gift cards for families to use on things that are not in the boxes, food and hygiene products.

According to Kiwanis volunteers, they used to give out turkeys, but found some families did not have an oven or way to cook the turkey. Now, a lot of the food is already pre-cooked. They also don’t focus on holiday-themed meals, and prioritize quantity. According to Eldridge, “these folks, especially with all that’s going on, may not have much food.” The goal is to get these families as much food as they possibly can. 

Part of getting the food together is reaching out to the local grocery stores with a food list to seek out bids. This way, local stores have a chance at a large purchase all at one time, and the group can get their products at a lower cost. According to Tom Robinson, a former grocery store owner and a 3-year Kiwanis member, they save nearly 25%, which is huge, and allows them to get that much more for the recipient families.

Once the bidder is chosen, they will order the products. Then, Pepsi from Missoula sends someone down in a truck, as a donation, to pick up the food and deliver it to the Hamilton High School. Robinson said in the old days they had to make numerous trips as everyone was filling their cars and pickup trucks to get all the food moved over to where they would fill and distribute the boxes. Now, with the help from Pepsi, it only takes a few hours. 

The project amounted to around $30,000, which is about what it comes to every year. All of it comes from community donations. Youth club members also held contests to collect the most canned goods, which were also distributed throughout the boxes. 

According to Eldridge, “Eventually, these kids will be stepping into our shoes,” and running this group. Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization, with levels at all ages and in schools. They even have college-level clubs. He explained that the work these youth do really helps the community, and shows them the difference they can make. That is why the local Kiwanis groups sponsor school clubs, with the hopes that that legacy of service continues every year. 

Eldridge added that they are always looking for new members. Interested parties can look the club up online at bitterrootvalleykiwanis.org for more information on how to help and get involved.