Second Harvest to open food pantry

Fruits and vegetables, meat and cheese.

Those are just some of the freshest items Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest supplies to those in need, which will benefit the students of Borah Elementary beginning Thursday when a new food pantry opens at the Coeur d'Alene Assembly Church.

Because the school and the church are in close proximity to one another, parents can pick their children up and head to the church to pick up food items after school, said Julie Humphreys, community relations manager for Second Harvest.

She said 50 percent of the food Second Harvest distributes is fresh fruits and vegetables. When other perishable items are considered, such as milk, cheese and meat, the number is closer to 70 percent.

"That's huge," Humphreys said. "And if you consider other perishable items, like your milks, your cheese and meats, it's actually closer to 70 percent. It's not your grandma's food bank anymore."

She said bringing in more fresh and perishable items is a change that has happened over the last decade. Traditionally, non-perishable food items had been the majority of stock at food banks.

"Second Harvest has fed people well for over 45 years and are now trying to feed them well," she said, emphasizing the last "well" in the sentence. "We get beautiful products from our area growers, from potatoes to apples to lentils; wonderful food donations there. So we are trying to get those into the hands of people that need food, so they are eating nutritious food."

Second Harvest aims to help schools in "high need" areas, which is determined by the number of students who receive free or reduced lunches.

"I don't know the exact percentage of free and reduced lunches at Borah Elementary, but it's over 50 percent because we target schools that are over half free and reduced lunch," she said.

Second Harvest has been in the Coeur d'Alene area a number of years, distributing food through partners such as Community Action Partnership and Post Falls Food Bank. Humphreys said what makes this pantry unique is it is the first school pantry in the area and the food will be delivered directly by Second Harvest. The food bank serves 26 counties, five in North Idaho.

Humphreys pointed out that, while this is the first food pantry, Second Harvest has been in the Coeur d'Alene schools since 2010. The Coeur d'Alene Backpack Program is the local division of the national Backpack Program created through Feeding America, and Second Harvest supplies food to the nearly 300 students in the Coeur d'Alene school district who benefit from the program. Humphreys said it is typically given to low-income students on Thursday or Friday each week to make sure they get plenty to eat over the weekend.

Food Pantry Manager Terah Chance said Eat Smart Idaho with the University of Idaho is "heavily" involved in the project. Shelley Johnson is the Eat Smart coordinator helping with nutrition information.

"She is helping us help other people choose healthier food options," Chance said. "They are even going to be at the church, at some point, doing cooking demonstrations with the products that we get from Second Harvest, so people know how to utilize them in a healthier way."

Second Harvest will deliver the first truckload of food to the church Wednesday. The food pantry will officially open Thursday, and each Thursday thereafter, from 2:30-4 p.m. The hours may be adjusted later depending on the response and interest of students and families.

The pantry is open to the community as well, although the target group is the students and their families, Humphreys said.