STAR, Idaho — The fight against hunger in Idaho is alive and well. The Star Outreach Food Bank has helped thousands of families experiencing food insecurity.
Now, they're looking for a new building to accommodate their growth.
From feeding 10 families a month in 2009 to feeding over 23,000 people most recently, the Star Outreach Food Bank has served the community as an outreach organization giving back to those experiencing food insecurity.
"We started out of a storage unit I believe just right up town, back when the great recession hit some gals got together and decided we needed a food bank in our community,” says Bethany Morrison, President of the board of directors for Star Outreach food banks.
Now, with so many mouths to feed and after 14 years of operation the food bank is looking to move into a bigger building.
“We need a permanent space here in Star so that we can continue to provide the level of service that we have and continue to feed, we also know that if we have a larger space, we could have more partners and we could have more ability to push food out,” says Morrison.
The food bank brings in between 4,500 to 6,500 pounds of food a week.
Once a month families get food boxes that are loaded with meat, dairy, canned goods protein, and more.
Caroline Fuller gets food boxes every month she says, “What they have us do is once a month we get to get a box which has a lot more staples and get us through the whole month and then each week we can come and shop.”
Volunteers work Monday through Thursday, with Tuesdays and Thursdays set aside as distribution days.
It's during that time that volunteers gather lists of preferences and family sizes. From there they pack the customized food boxes.
Joanne Love has been volunteering with the food bank for years, she says, “Any of us could be a couple of degrees away either from being homeless or food insecure, and I'd like to think could this have been me, could this have been someone in my family.”
Since there are no income restrictions, help is available to all. You’ll need to bring a photo ID and proof of a current address, from there volunteers will ask a series of questions to customize the box.
Bethany Morrison says, “It's just harder and harder for people for people to keep going such long distances. We want to become that hub and have that space where we can store a lot of things, we could be a source where if food is brought to us other food banks and other organizations can come pick up from us.”
Morrison believes they need about two acres to have enough space for the current and future services they provide.
