The annual autumn food drive aims to address need in the off-season ahead of winter
By Jen Clancey DIGITAL PRODUCER
A spooky sight came to town on Oct. 21 in Wilson Plaza. Dozens of carveable pumpkins suddenly filled the square as the clock struck 12…in the afternoon.
The Great Pumpkin Giveaway brought the Halloween and giving spirit to Big Sky this past weekend with the Big Sky Community Food Bank’s annual food drive and fundraiser
Those who donated 10 cans, 10 pounds of food or $10 to the community food bank were awarded with their choice of prize pumpkins. The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce provided pumpkins for the event.
“I mean, it’s a perfect weather day for it, isn’t it,” observed Lizzie Peyton, food bank board member.
In years prior, Peyton recalled, food bank staff and volunteers faced winter conditions, some freezing in their pumpkin costumes. This year, the giveaway landed on the last weekend of warm weather in Big Sky.
The fall weather also signifies a period of high need for resources like the food bank.
Supporting the community through the seasons
“The fall off-season is the food bank’s busiest off busiest season, because it’s the longest period where people go between having work,” Peyton said of Big Sky’s season-affected economy. “When they’re unemployed in between the summer and the winter season, this is when they really need the most help.”
Though the fall season quiets down, it’s also a time to support those who make Big Sky such a popular destination in busier months, Peyton explained.
“I think it’s really important that we’re supporting the people who are allowing tourism to happen. All of our businesses rely heavily on hourly wage workers who are either commuting in the canyon or living in workforce housing that may or may or may not have proper stoves.”
The food bank is located at the junction of Montana Highway 64 and U.S. Highway 191— the one way between Big Sky and Bozeman. Peyton explained that the food bank also helps families who commute in and out of Big Sky, making the food bank’s impact and demand higher with each year.
At the “State of the Community” presentation during Big Sky Community week, Sarah Gaither Bivins, senior operations manager and services navigator, alluded to the food bank’s ballooning demand—now serving almost 1,900 unique customers.
“[Last year] my services at the food bank were up 97% from the year before, which was up 60% from the year before that,” Bivins told the audience at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center. Representing the topic of “community wellness,” she suggested that right now, we are in “severe crisis.”
“I’ve been doing this for ten years, and I’d only ever seen a 10% increase,” Bivins added. “So it was very extreme.”
Seasonal ways to make a difference
This year, the food bank encouraged Halloweeners to bring soup, rice, beans, and canned and boxed meals to the giveaway. In total, they collected 470 pounds of food according to Bivins.
From Nov. 6 to 13, those with pumpkins can drop them off with Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization (SNO) at the parking lot beside BASE to compost them.
