Great Plains Food Bank visits Christine with Mobile Food Pantry

CHRISTINE, N.D. — The Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry can be found making stops all across North Dakota.

It’s a way for the nonprofit organization to deliver food to the people who need it most.

“Mobile really helps us to increase access by bringing food to where people are at,” said Great Plains Food Bank’s Anna Johnson. “In some communities that don’t have food shelves, we will try to do more shelf-stable food, but we always try to do produce because that is so hard to get, especially across rural North Dakota.”

Wednesday’s mobile food pantry made a pit stop in Christine, North Dakota; a town that is trying to provide it’s people with the extra resources.

“They were interested in starting a food pantry so we are doing a trial to see what the need is in the area to see if there is enough need to start a food pantry,” said Johnson.

A person does not have to be from the town where the pantry is to get the groceries they need. All are welcome to stop by at no cost to them.

“They actually come from all over,” said Johnson. “We have tried to track, but they come from a long ways away.”

The drive-through service is socially-distant friendly. Drivers open their doors and allow volunteers to fill their cars up with items that include milk, eggs, yogurt and watermelon.

The coronavirus pandemic makes this service all the more important. It gives those that are struggling the food that they need in the safest possible way.

“We have seen large increases in the number of people we have been serving at our distributions,” revealed Johnson. “Some people are worried about coming out of their houses right now, so a lot of people are picking up for their friends and families. It is just incredible to see the community support that has gotten even stronger during this pandemic.”