Students donate to food bank

As the holidays grow near, students at Thompson Falls schools did their part to bring cheer to the people of Sanders County. As part of their annual food drive, kindergarten through eighth grade students collected nearly 1,000 pounds of food for Community Harvest Food Bank (CHFB).

"This was definitely a new record for us," said Principal Len Dorscher. The elementary student council sponsored the event. "They did a great job of collecting and sorting food multiple times over two weeks," Dorscher added. As is tradition, a contest was held to see which class could collect the most food. The third grade collected the most pounds of food and was rewarded with a root beer float party.

Hank Smith, president of CHFB, said the students donated a total of 985 pounds this year. "That was a blessing to the community and the people who come here," Smith said. While CHFB receives funding, grants and help from the Montana Foodbank Network, Smith says the 985 pounds of donated food will be able to help families all year long. "Throughout the year, every month, we are able to serve around 130 people," Smith said.

For the month of November, CHFB served 137 people in Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. "That's typically what we can do in a month," Smith stated. According to Smith, the food bank was able to hand out right around 4,700 pounds of food last month, and a total of 5,100 pounds of food was donated.

"We certainly appreciate those students," Smith expressed. "We would like to tell them a big thank you from the food bank." Smith continued, "There are a lot of helpful people in this community, and a lot of good people in Thompson Falls and Trout Creek."