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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Old vans threaten food bank mission

Community Action Partnership food bank volunteer Ken Battjer, center, unloads food from one of their vans at the facility in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. The food bank is raising money to replace two of the three vans, which range in age from 16 to 24 years old. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Community Action Partnership food bank volunteer Ken Battjer, center, unloads food from one of their vans at the facility in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. The food bank is raising money to replace two of the three vans, which range in age from 16 to 24 years old. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

The loading bay door rolls up inside the Community Action Partnership food bank warehouse in northwest Coeur d’Alene. Volunteers spring into action, unloading a van stuffed with donations from Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Starbucks, Red Lobster and Davis Donuts. In come boxes of cantaloupe, yams, meats, cereal and bread, graham crackers and more – all perfectly good food diverted from the waste stream to help feed Kootenai County families in need. To keep this rescue mission going five days a week, the food bank relies on three aging cargo vans – from 16 to 24 years old – and volunteer drivers. The volunteers are doing fine, but the vans are wearing out/Scott Maben, SR. More here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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