MISSOULA — Volunteers ensured more people would have healthy holiday food to gobble up this Thanksgiving at the Missoula Food Bank's annual turkey distribution on Sunday.
“We're giving out over 2,000 turkeys to the households in Missoula that might not be able to afford Thanksgiving without us,” said Cheyenne Hoyle, store operations support at Missoula Food Bank & Community Center.
The morning cold did not keep people, or their holiday spirit, away as birds started flying out the door at 9 a.m.
The line of people was soon backed up from the food bank on Wyoming Street up to the Russell Street Bridge to Broadway.
Volunteers quickly jumped in to help with traffic control.
“It's been a little chilly, but it's been great," Hoyle said. "Everybody's so friendly this morning. Everybody's in good spirits. We know that Thanksgiving is about to be happening. Just being here today and helping so many people has been awesome and just a wonderful experience. The energy is here.”
Last year’s event provided food for 1,000 families. The turkey distribution is a memorable event for volunteers, staff and diners.
Scott Derenburger, with the Sentinel Kiwanis, handed out birds for a third year in a row. Volunteering at the food bank is more than a one-day activity for Derenburger.
“I work at the food bank two hours a week on Tuesdays from one to three," he said. "This is just an extension of that. It's a lot of fun just helping the community."
Plenty of volunteers were at the event to pass out the birds and their fixings, which included stuffing, pumpkin pie and more.
But, helping Missoula stay fed goes way beyond the holidays.
“The food bank is short volunteers, I believe," Derenburger said. "They require you to just work a minimum of two hours a week and a maximum of four hours a week. Contact them if you want to help out here because there's a lot of great people.”
