The Big Sandy Youth Group Halloween trick-or-treat food drive will be taking place on Wednesday, October 26th between 7 and 8 PM. The food drive is a long/running tradition for youth groups in our community. Jeramie Erie, who runs the Youth Program at Big Sandy Church of God, explained the event to me: “Every year, we put together a Halloween Food Bank drive where youth in the town go door to door trick or treating for Food Bank donations, including canned goods and dry items.”

Two youth programs will be participating in food collection, the Church of God and Christ Lutheran Church. This year, Jeramie has introduced a twist to the event: “We are implementing a friendly competition between the churches. We ordered a fun little food bank trophy. The idea is that each year, we will compete to see who collects more donations. We will determine that by weight. The winning group will get the trophy and bragging rights, of course. They’ll get to prominently display their trophy in their youth room for that year until next year when the other church gets the opportunity to win it back.”

As in previous years, the churches will split the community into sections, likely using the highway as the dividing line. Each church will get a side where they will do food collection.

For locals who want to donate, but are trying to be careful about contact with other people due to Covid concerns, Jeramie explained: “If you are wanting to be safe, you can leave donations, preferably in a box, outside your door with your porch light on. That way you don’t have to come in contact with people if you’re limiting your exposure to people.”

In my decade in Big Sandy, I have been a part of the food drive many times. It is nearly impossible to stop at every address in town in the allotted time. This has resulted calls and messages from community members who want to donate. According to Jeramie “Ideally, we try to hit every house. If you get missed, give us a call.” Jeramie’s number is 406-945-7411. You can call or text him to ensure your house has trick-or-treaters or if they do not make it by.

Food donations should be non-perishable, unopened, and before the labeled expiration date. The food bank typically looks for cereal, canned vegetables, soups, cake mixes, pastas, sauces, instant potatoes, and other food items. You can contact me with any questions: Erik at 406-399-3803 or sietsemail@gmail.com.