The Big Sandy Food Bank raffle of 1/2 a pig was awarded to Dusty Alderdice after Deb Louvar drew Dusty's ticket as the winner. The Food Bank partnered with Triangle Communications after they were selected, along with several other programs in the area, to receive the meat to raffle off or to distribute among their recipients. Triangle Communications provided posters and tickets and the community showed their support by buying raffle tickets. The raffle raised $2,030 through ticket sales, with another $250 in direct cash donations. Terry Grant pointed out that, "One hundred percent of the raffle proceeds will go to the the Food Bank account in Big Sandy."
Dusty purchased one ticket mainly in support of the program, but also hoping to win the prize. "I just want to thank you guys (the Food Bank) for all your hard work and everything you do. I think it's very important to our community, and it's very great that you volunteer your time to provide this service to our community."
During the drawing, I asked Karli Phillips, who is on the board of the food bank and has been involved in the program for nearly 10 years, about her thoughts on the raffle as a fundraiser. "I would have never imagined that we would be able to do something like this. It was a huge gift from Triangle Communications. Very Generous of them to give this opportunity to us. Things have come a long way. It started out as a few shelves in the basement of the Methodist Church. It has developed into a quite a big thing, serving many more people." Karli spoke highly of the efforts of Florence and Burke Allen who ran the program for many years before health concerns prompted her retirement. "She (Florence) did a fantastic job. They did box collections, mainly at the churches. She did a great job of getting things rounded up and The Grocery Store provided gift cards."
In the past few years, the program has experienced significant growth, which Karli attributes to "Word of mouth, the availability of funds from donations, dramatic increase in community involvement, the hard work of Terry Grant, the board, and the other volunteers who have made the Food Bank into what it is today." In many ways, the Food Bank exemplifies what makes Big Sandy a special place to live. The community bands together to take care of each other through generosity and hard work. The generosity of the town has made all of it possible.
The Big Sandy Food Bank is no longer just the distribution of monthly food boxes, but also produce distributions through the Farmers to Families Program and other efforts. Before the lockdown, the Food Bank also partnered with Set Free Ministries in Great Falls to distribute perishable food every Saturday for several years. They have also been involved in distributing food and other supplies through partnership with area groups. For example, the FE Miley Elementary School organized Christmas Dinner Boxes for the last few years, which the program has distributed. They have worked with the Fort Benton Women's Club to distribute Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, as well gifts for children in the community.
