Mike Hillard new director of Post Falls Food Bank

Mike Hillard is quick to offer a hand with the front door, or greet clients as they wait at the Post Falls Food Bank. As new director for the food bank, he’s taking steps toward changing the food bank’s image.

He’s taken a look at other food banks since he started in January, by studying Web sites and learning about hunger issues in other parts of the country. Now he hopes to make sure all needs are met here.

“My perspective is changing every time I walk through the door,” he said.

He said when one- or two-income households are burdened by basic bills and necessities, having enough food is a source of anxiety for some people in the area.

Hillard said the number of people the food bank serves surged 62 percent in 2004. He said the growth may be due to an influx of people to the area and few work opportunities other than seasonal jobs.

In addition to his duties at the food bank, Hillard works a seasonal job at the Black Rock Golf Course. He was previously involved in purchasing for Hewlett Packard, now Agilent Technologies. After 22 years, he was laid off.

As food bank director he’ll be using his business background to help streamline the operation and help ease the workload through computers.

One of the first changes he helped with was converting hand-written reports to a computer spreadsheet. Now, a three-day task takes minutes, and the food bank can use graphs to show businesses how many pounds of food they donated over the year.

Hillard plans to build public awareness of the food bank and reach out to members of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce. He is working on a presentation and newsletter to bring more businesses on board to help the organization.

“We want to raise the awareness and do it in a positive way,” Hillard said.

He said 17 businesses and numerous individuals contribute to the food bank regularly. Last year, 644,000 pounds of food were donated, helping about 1,250 families in the area.

Hillard said he believes he can increase the number of regular food bank contributors if more businesses are aware of hunger issues some people are facing in the area. Because the food bank depends on donations, he’s working hard to pull in extra dollars through grants and food drives.

The food bank is currently in a drive for the Feinstein Challenge, a way to earn part of a $1 million pie based on the amount of donations a food bank receives March through April. Last year, the food bank received about $1,000 from the challenge.

“We don’t generate a profit, but I think the profits we generate here you can’t see on a balance sheet,” he said.

Hillard said the food bank generates respect and encourages the people who use the food bank by passing on hope. He added that some people feel bad about using the food bank, but he makes sure to let those who do use it know that the food bank is glad to help until their circumstances improve.

The food bank has about three paid employees, including Hillard, and about 12 steady volunteers. Some volunteers have previously used the food bank, and others continued to volunteer after completing community service, he said.

Last month, about 70 volunteers helped at the food bank, including several people working on community service. Some future improvements may include a permanent building for the food bank, a new van for food deliveries, and a walk-in freezer to replace the 19 stand-alone freezers used now.

The food bank is a finalist for grant money for the new freezer.