United Way and North Country Food Bank Give Away Food To 400-Plus Families

Another food giveaway took place earlier today in the Sanford Center parking lot in Bemidji. In collaboration with the North Country Food Bank, the United Way gave away more than 28-thousand pounds of food to the community. With everything from snacks and juice to frozen fish and full meals, hundreds of cars came through the drive-thru style line to get food. In total, between 400 and 500 families were served in only two hours. People accessing the free meal service simply had to drive up and say how many families they were picking up food for, and the 50-plus volunteers would pack up their cars.

“So many people were so thankful and humbled, too, because this is a hard time for everyone.” said the United Way of the Bemidji Area Executive Director Denae Alamano, “It doesn’t matter your income level necessarily. People are in need right now. We know that we had over 400 households served today. We had to reassign volunteers to other things. We also have going on because so many people want to help, which is that magic Bemidji has where they roll up their sleeves and help their neighbors.”

The United Way will continue to go out into the community throughout its recovery. More details about either donating or accessing funds from their disaster relief fund can be found on the United Way website.