How You Can Help
Volunteer
Volunteers are critical to our mission. We are very fortunate to have over 120 volunteers who are committed to the food bank. Generous donations of time and talent allow The Butte Emergency Food Bank to function.
Volunteers are not paid—not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.
People of diverse experiences share their time, energy, and talents by performing a variety of jobs. These include: stocking shelves, sorting food, interviewing clients, entering data, bagging groceries, cleaning, repacking perishable foods, collecting donated goods, and delivering food to senior citizens.
We also need volunteers for our community food drives.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us at (406) 782-3814, email us, or complete and return our volunteer application form.
Food Donations
We receive donated food through Feeding America and our local grocery stores. We receive over 700,000 pounds of perishable food throughout the year—all of which is processed and made available to our clients immediately. All other items are purchased and distributed based on the size of the family being served.
Whenever possible, we are focusing on providing more healthy and nutritious items to our clients. We distribute over $1.5 million dollar’s worth of food items each year.
Non-perishable food items are always gladly accepted. You can drop off your food donation at The Butte Emergency Food Bank at 1019 E. 2nd Street in Butte, or at any of our donation bins at some local grocery stores.
Monetary Donations
Memorial donations for both the deceased and the living are arranged daily, with cards sent to the memorialized. Those wishing to remember friends or loved ones during special occasions with a gift to The Butte Emergency Food Bank will also have a card sent to the loved one letting them know about the donation. To donate, send us your check, donate through PayPal, stop by our office in Butte, or call us at (406) 782-3814 and let us know the person you wish to gift, and we'll send a card to announce your gift.
Funding comes through our community and those individuals who have been touched by the food bank.
Fundraisers
Fundraisers is one of the key ways that we build up our stock of food.
We have two Food Drives a year, the U.S. Postal Worksers Drive in May and the Thompson Food Drive in December.
We also apply for grants from various corporations, the Washington Foundation, Town Pump and various grocery stores and bakeries.
In the spring we hold the Empty Bowls event at the Butte Civic Center to support our backpack program and in November we have the Turkey Tournament to collect for Thanksgiving food boxes.
The Butte Emergency Food Bank participates in the MT State Giving Campaign. If you are a state employee and are willing to make payroll donations to the Food Bank, contact the State office for information about payroll deductions to the Butte Emergency Food Bank.(Federal ID: 81-0469563) Organization Code: 5268
In Butte, employees of Butte-Silver Bow, Northwestern Energy, Pioneer Technical Services, O’Keefe Drilling, and St. James Hospital Community Shares also allow payroll deductions to The Butte Emergency Food Bank. Personnel services can arrange for deductions.