Help Spread the Word:
Thank you for helping us spread the word about the new Community Food Resources Center. Choose from any of the following activities. You will find text and image resources below that you can use to help with drafting any content you create to help spread the word.
Activities:
- Write a letter to the Editor at the Helena IR – see sample content below. Please customize it to make it your own. Submit here: https://helenair.com/forms/contact/letter_to_the_editor/
- Post something on your social media – FB, IG, LI, YT, or start a FB – see sample text and image content below. Please customize it to make it your own.
- Record a short (1 min max) video with Patty in the Pantry that we can post on social – let Patty know the times you are available to record the video.
- Attend a community mtg with Tim or Bruce – let Tim know if you have community organization affiliations you are a part of.
- Share a campaign poster and email at your place of work, asking people to support the campaign – email Patty to let her know how many posters you need.
- Write a personal note asking someone to learn more & support the campaign – see sample text below. Please customize it to make it your own.
- Write an email asking someone to learn more & support the campaign. Use sample text – customize it to make it your own.
Leave your sheet or a note with Cathy Ransier, or email Patty@helenafoodshare.org to let us know what you plan to do – just so we can track everything. Thank You!
Content Resources
Sample Content for Letters, Cards, Emails & Social Media
Please use the following as a guide to help you spread the word. It is best to keep the message simple, especially in social media and emails, and direct people on how to give.
If you need additional information or materials for your content, contact Patty White – Patty@HelenaFoodShare.org or 406-443-3663.
This is why I support the campaign:
As a Helena Food Share volunteer, I know first-hand the need for food support in our community. One-in-7 of our neighbors, including 1-in-5 of our kids and 1-in-5 of our seniors, don’t have the food they need to live healthy, productive lives. Helena Food Share has been there whenever someone needs our help.
However, our facilities no longer meet the growing need in our community. The size of our shopping, storage and processing areas makes getting food to those who need it more difficult and less efficient.
I am asking my friends and neighbors (or colleagues) to support the campaign in any way they can so we have a facility that meets our community’s needs today and in the future. Let’s ensure our neighbors can get the food they need whenever life brings unexpected challenges their way. Please give today to help build the new Community Food Resource Center.
Did you know? (program or need)
- Helena Food Share relies on the generosity of individual donors in our community to make sure food is available, …
- When Kids don’t have enough to eat at home over the weekend. Kid Packs, distributed to preschool and elementary kids each week, provide easy-to-fix nutrition over the weekend.
- When Seniors need help balancing the high cost of healthcare or housing with healthy food. Food essentials like milk, bread, grains, meat, and produce are available each week in the Pantry or from bi-monthly commodities.
- When Families have unexpected bills from healthcare, home or car repairs, or employment changes. They can rely on weekly Grocery Share shopping at the Pantry to ensure their family can eat.
- The need for Helena Food Share services has risen by 2600% since they opened their current facility in 2001. The growth in population and rising food, healthcare, and housing costs have driven this growth. The new facility will ensure our community can meet the need long into the future.
- Helena Food Share provided over 80,400 different services in 2022, including: 29,724 Grocery Share services; 42,047 Kid Packs to pre-school, elementary & middle-school kids in Helena & East Helena; 1,481 Senior Commodities boxes; and 4,934 Emergency Food Packs for those in urgent need of calories.
Personal Story/Community Need – if you are willing to share
- Growing up, I (or my family, parents, relative, friend) experienced hunger, so I know how important it is to make sure our community provides food to anyone when it is needed. The stress of not having enough to eat and the health issues it created had a lasting effect on (me or my family).
- I know what it’s like not to have enough to eat. When I was in (elementary, high school or college), we/I didn’t always have enough to cover both food and living expenses. I relied on ___ and having that support made all the difference.
- Because of this, I know the importance of a community coming together to support our neighbors when they are in need.
What is the Community Food Resource Center/How will it help?
The Helena Food Share Community Food Resource Center will put all of its programs and facilities under one roof, enabling it to provide the services our community needs more efficiently and more effectively.
The new facility will provide:
- 3-times the shopping space, eliminating crowding and wait lines outside during weather extremes
- 3-times the storage space in the warehouse with additional space to build food packs & boxes, and making it easier and more efficient to move food to where it is needed.
- A commercial kitchen where food can be repackaged, processed, and preserved – expanding food delivery options for the evolving needs in our community.
- A community education space to bring customers and the community together for skills-building classes
Asking for Support
- Will you support the campaign for Helena Food Share’s new facility? Together, we can build a hunger-free community!
- Please help build the new Community Food Resource Center. Give Today!
How to Give
- You can give online at HelenaFoodShare.org/Capital-Campaign. Or, you can send a check to PO Box 943, Helena, MT 59624. Please be sure to put Capital Campaign in the memo of your check.
- If you or your business/organization would like to discuss options for how you can best support the campaign through workplace giving or a campaign pledge, please get in touch with Tim Joyce at Tim@HelenaFoodShare.org or by calling 406-443-3663.
Media
Copy/ Paste one of these images to your email or social media to go along with your message. Links to poster pdfs are below if you want a poster for your work or business. You can also use the short video here.
Posters
Click on these images to download a campaign poster (8-1/2×11 inch) or a campaign flyer (11×17 inch) to print for your office or business.
