TOWNSEND -- More people in Broadwater County are turning to the community food pantry for help than in the past four years.

And this year, the Broadwater Food Pantry will dip into its cash reserves to meet the need.

But the good news is that there is a food pantry at all.

In 2004 the pantry almost went extinct, when the building it was housed in was sold.

But then, with a little nudge from Mayor Mary Alice Upton, volunteers came together for a meeting.

Since then, the pantry's roared back to life, and recently moved to a small but comfortable storefront at 315 Broadway.

Nine churches in town and 4-H each take responsibility for operating the pantry one month of the year, helping clients on Saturday mornings and setting up Friday afternoons.

Teens from Broadwater High School volunteer as well.

All told, volunteers collectively filled more than 340 shifts so far this year.

Although volunteerism is growing, so is need.

Client visits are up, with 791 visits this past fiscal year, compared to 683 the previous year.

The number of people receiving food grew 23 percent, with 2,208 assisted this past fiscal year, compared to 1,799 the year before.

Clients can visit the food pantry every other week. They're provided three days of food, three meals per day for each member of their household.

"Most of our clients are the working poor," said Marge Cheever, a volunteer coordinating the food pantry.

"When the price of fuel went up, that's when we see more people," she said.

However, what hardships caused the visits aren't known because clients aren't asked why they need help. They only provide their name, the number of people in their household and their ages.

Since its near demise four years ago, the food pantry has turned into a $50,000 annual operation, said Bill Hubber, the pantry's president.

Cash donations make up $19,348 of that amount, and food gifts $27,000.

Volunteer hours are valued as a $5,000 contribution, based on multiplying the number of hours served by the minimum wage.

Last Friday afternoon, a dozen volunteers crowded into the storefront to talk about the food pantry and what keeps them coming back.

Hubber came on board as a volunteer in 2004.

"Every time I stopped to drop off a food donation, the food bank had moved," he recalled. "Then it disappeared altogether."

During a community Resource Assessment meeting that year, he was asked, "What could make the community better?" He wrote down "a food bank."

A short time later, Upton called him, inviting him to attend a meeting about the food pantry. He's been involved ever since.

Many of the other volunteers were recruited by their churches or friends.

And then some, like 12-year-old Stephanie Massey, just happened to be nearby when Cheever was unloading food from her car and asked if she could help. She's been showing up regularly ever since.

Last Friday, there was a whirl of activity as volunteers checked in groceries and stocked shelves and coolers.

A short time later, community members were stopping in with donations -- some brought canned items, others garden produce.

"Can you use fresh green beans?" asked one, presenting a 5-pound bag from her garden.

A few minutes later Rubie Cox arrived with 15 pounds of onions she'd dug from her garden, a couple pounds of beets and some beautiful green peppers.

Previously she's donated beef and brought in fresh raspberries.

Service organizations help as well, such as the Lions Club taking 800 pounds of potatoes from farmers' fields last year to donate, and the Rotary Club stepping up with cash donations.

Two businesses, Wheat Montana and Bob's Supermarket, are particularly generous, said Cheever. Every Thursday, Wheat Montana delivers a load of 80 to 150 loaves of bread that the food pantry shares with Helena Food Share.

And Bob's Supermarket donates regularly, including Thanksgiving turkeys.

"Townsend is a pretty amazing place," said Hubber. "The people are really public spirited."

Cheever never has trouble finding volunteers, she said. People don't make up excuses, they just show up.

"We're appreciated," she said. "It's a wonderful experience."

And they know they are filling a need.

"I overheard a conversation in town when two people were talking about the food bank," said Cheever. "One of them said, 'Boy is that ever a good place. We had some hard times. We didn't eat steak, but we didn't starve to death either. If you need it, you should go there.' "

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com