Broadwater Food Pantry Changes Operation Managers
Author: MT43 News Staff Reporter
Broadwater Food Pantry Changes Operation Managers
MT43 News Staff Reporter
It was the fifth Saturday of the month. Broadwater Food Pantry bustled with customers. By 8:30 a.m. the chairs were full of folks waiting to shop for groceries. They joked and visited with each other; many with smiles and cheerful greetings.
None were more cheerful than the Food Pantry’s new operations manager, Trina Bergman. She has taken Karoline Nelson’s place at the helm, organizing, buying extra food commodities and being available to take in large food donations or answer emergency calls. Nelson had served as operations manager for 14 years.
Bergman, who lives in the Silos area, came to Townsend last year from Southwest Washington. After retiring 10 years ago she and her husband ran sheep and poultry on a small acreage. They followed relatives to Townsend. She was working full time as a dental assistant so had never done much volunteer work. Now she wanted to get involved in the community. She had been serving the food pantry with Trailhead church. Before she knew it, she was the new operations manager.
The position involves many work hours, but Bergman said she finds it very fulfilling. She said she could not get over the excitement and energy from the high school kids when they brought in 2,180 pounds of food on October 30 from their ‘Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat’ community event. “That’s more than a ton of food. I was on a high seeing all those kids getting into community giving. It’s a great feeling,” she said
Broadwater Food Pantry gave out 30 turkeys with all the trimmings this Thanksgiving, plus 22 ham dinners. “We’re serving many more homeless, elderly and single women. Many are in new circumstances so need the barest of essentials such as toothbrushes and toilet paper. We serve one family with eight children. We are averaging about 30 families with up to 70 members. Several families are living in campers at KOA campground because they can find nowhere else to live. There is more and more need for people to feed their families,” she explained.
The Food Pantry has expanded its services to work with Broadwater Health Department’s Homemakers’ Program. The program serves about 10 clients for which the homemaker comes to the pantry to pick up groceries for her clients. Health Department workers Mindy Shaeffer and Megan Poe established the program two years ago.
The Pantry, temporarily located on Broadway, is open the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Workers offer a 5th Saturday if there is one in the month. Doors open at 9:00 a.m. until 10:45 am. Donations can be made on the 1st and 3rd Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. or on 1st and 3rd Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Please call Trina at (360) 562-1971 or President Daryl Blumhagen at (406) 980-0800 for more information or to give large food donations.
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
Image 1 Caption: Trina Bergman, Food Pantry Operations Manager
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
