HRDC’s food bank plans spring food drive — Spring for Food — across Bozeman and Belgrade to support childhood nutrition programs and to replenish its supply of fresh produce. 

As part of Fight Childhood Hunger Week taking place April 4th – 9th, HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank is hosting a food drive. The food bank has set a goal of gathering 15,000 pounds of donated food with an emphasis on securing fresh produce to help support our neighbors in need.

Spring for Food will take place at grocery stores across the community from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on April 9th and will shine a light on the prevalence of childhood food insecurity as well as the benefit of providing fresh, nutritious produce for customers at the food bank. Using supermarkets as a central donation point allows community members the convenience of making food donations while they are shopping. 

"In the past six months 26% of our customers using the Gallatin Valley Food Bank were children.  Between the impacts of Covid and the rapidly rising cost of living across the valley, the people we see have more need than ever,” said Jill Holder, HRDC’s Food and Nutrition Director. 

Holder continued, “We know the number one way we can support our community is to help ensure no one goes to bed with an empty belly. The measures we take through our KidsPack and Summer Lunch programs connect kids with nutritional food options every week of the year. Through various outreach programs and our physical store, we were able to provide nearly 12,000 boxes of food to those struggling to stretch their budgets last year. But we can’t do this alone. Our community has a track record of generosity, and we are most grateful for every ounce of support we receive.”

HRDC is seeking community volunteers to assist in collecting food for its Spring for Food drive at participating grocery stores on April 9th. Contributions in every form — whether food donations, monetary gifts, or volunteer work — directly support HRDC’s ability to distribute groceries to area families in need. 

More information about HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank and its Spring for Food campaign can be found at https://thehrdc.org/food-nutrition/ and https://gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org.