Foodbank

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St. Mary's Food Bank

Location: 3890 W. State Street
Open: Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Closed on Holidays)
Hours: 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
(One visit per family per month.)

About the Food Bank

The St. Mary's Food Bank is sponsored by the church and supported by other organizations and individuals in the community. The food bank serves clients in areas with the following zip codes: part of 83702, all of 83703 and 83714. These zip codes cover (roughly) from North 16th Street as far south as Main; and west, including Garden City.

The Idaho Foodbank and El Ada provide much of the food we distribute to our clients; however, we also receive important support from St. Mary's parishioners, and the St. Mary's and Bishop Kelly schools. St. Mary's schoolchildren bring donated food items to one weekly Mass per month, and Bishop Kelly High School shares a portion of the food donated in their annual food drive. In addition to these sources of funds and donated items, the food bank staff applies for any grants that may be available to help purchase additional food or other necessities.

Volunteers manage and staff the food bank. This team of volunteers performs nearly all the activities required to run an organization that provided food to over 21,000 people in the past year. (See detailed statistics in the sections below.)

A volunteer receptionist on each shift welcomes each client and records their visit. Other volunteers pack food boxes and fill sacks with perishables such as bread, meat, eggs and butter). The amount of food given to each client is determined by family size.

Volunteers also build many of the furnishings the food bank needs to support its operation. Examples of this donated labor can be seen in the picture at the right and the picture in the section below. In addition to building furnishings, the food bank volunteers did most of the remodeling required for the opening of the new facility. Click here to see pictures of the remodeling project.

In addition to food, children’s books are provided monthly by St. Vincent de Paul as part of their “Book Blitz” program. Parishioners also donate miscellaneous toiletry items: soap, tooth paste, lotions, shampoo, etc. Clients are always happy to find these items on our shelf when they visit.

Would you like to volunteer? Please call Isabell Yale (850-6818) for more information.

Other volunteer activities include:

· Managing volunteer staff schedules

· Taking inventory of stock on hand

· Ordering food

· Purchasing food

· Stocking shelves

· Cleaning and maintaining the facility

· Building shelves and other items that are needed for day-to-day activities

Food Bank Statistics

Food Bank Visits - 2011

Month	Clients	Last Year	Inc./Decr.	%
January	2,167	1,520	647	42.57%
February	1,821	1,111	710	63.91%
March	2,419	1,683	736	43.73%
April	2,454	1,657	797	48.10%
May	2,179	1,673	506	30.25%
June	2,541	1,844	697	37.80%
July	2,281	2,138	143	06.69%
August	2,304	2,028	276	13.61%
September	1,850	1,964	-114	-05.80%
October	2,387	2,209	178	08.05%
November
December
Total	22,403	17,827	4,576	25.67%



Food Bank Visits - 2010

Month	Clients	Last Year	Inc./Decr.	%
January	1,520	1,617	-97	-6.00%
February	1,111	1,239	-128	-10.40%
March	1,683	1,570	113	8.54%
April	1,657	1,511	146	10.39%
May	1,673	1,226	447	36.46%
June	1,844	1,506	338	22.44%
July	2,138	1,598	540	33.79%
August	2,028	1,723	305	14.21%
September	1,964	1,445	519	40.35%
October	2,209	1,428	781	54.69%
November	2,292	1,479	813	54.96%
December	1,460	1,215	245	20.16%
Total	21,579	17,557	4,022	22.90%



Food Bank Visits - 2009

Month	Clients	Last Year	Inc./Decr.	%

January	1,617	1,255	362	28.84%
February	1,239	1,166	173	06.26%
March	1,570	1,414	156	11.03%
April	1,511	1,303	249	19.10%
May	1,226	856	370	43.22%
June	1,506	1,035	471	45.50%
July	1,598	1,294	304	23.49%
August	1,723	1,100	406	46.90%
September	1,445	969	479	49.40%
October	1,428	1,537	-106	-7.04%
November	1,479	1,429	19	1.03%
December	1,215	1,495	-280	-23.00%
Total	17,557	14,853	2,704	18.21%

Historical Statistics

The food bank staff began using an electronic database to record client visit information mid-year of 2004. The earliest complete statistics available prior to 2005 were for 1989, and that figure is being used as a benchmark in the graph below.

Would you like to help?

There are several ways:

Sponsor a food
Volunteer at the food bank
Donate money
Pray for us and the people we serve

If you would like to sponsor a food (which means you would be willing to bring the food you have selected to the food bank each month), or volunteer to work at the food bank, please call Isabell Yale, the food bank manager, at (208) 850-6818.

If you prefer to donate money, you can put your donation in the collection plate during Mass.

If you can sponsor a food, please consider one of the food items listed below:

Food Items Needed

Hot Dogs
Pork & Beans
Peanut Butter
Spaghetti
Spaghetti Sauce
Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes (canned)
Soups

Your generosity is very important to the families who come to the food bank for help. Please consider volunteering, donating food or making a collection plate donation.

New Facility Remodeling Project

Refinishing the Floors was a BIG Project