Car crash sets back Clark Fork Food Bank

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

Many people’s lives were thrown into turmoil when several vehicles collided Sept. 6 on U.S. 95 north of Sandpoint. 

Clark Fork Food Bank volunteer Kaelene Bare sorts through a monthly food box. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert.

The pileup also created complications for the Clark Fork Food Bank, which lost 300 pounds of meat due to damage and spoilage. One vehicle involved in the crash belonged to a food bank volunteer hauling meat from three pigs and a lamb back to Clark Fork from Wood’s Meat Processing. The meat was purchased and donated by several community members.

The Clark Fork Food Bank, which serves between 35 and 50 people each week, relies heavily on donations such as the lost meat in order to provide weekly goods and more hefty monthly boxes. The food bank also provides fixings for holiday meals in November and December.

With the setback weighing on the food bank’s reserves, volunteer Kaelene Bare emphasized that now is a good time to support the food bank by donating non-perishable goods, money or volunteer time to ensure the service remains available to the community. 

Bare said that while people often assume everything a food bank receives from organizations like Second Harvest is free, it’s actually not.

The food bank, located at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Pine Street in Clark Fork, is open every Wednesday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Those with questions should call 208-266-0321 between those hours.