Purple gold pours into Hungry Horse business
HILARY MATHESON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 1 month AGO
A scoop sits in a bin of huckleberries at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse in this July 24, 2014, file photo. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)
<p>The Huckleberry Patches sells various sizes of packaged berries. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Erna Fortin smiles while talking about baking pies Thursday morning at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Huckleberry fudge sets in Montana-shaped molds Thursday morning at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A map at the Huckleberry Patch shows all the different places they have shipped pies. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Visitors browse the large selection of syrups, preserves and jellies Thursday morning at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A sign that reads "Yay! Huckleberries!" hangs off the front of the building to draw in motorists on U.S 2 on Thursday morning at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse. July 24, 2014 in Hungry Horse, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
EDUCATION REPORTER Hilary Matheson covers education for the Daily Inter Lake. Her reporting focuses on schools, students, and the policies that shape public education across Northwest Montana. Matheson regularly reports on school boards, district decisions and issues affecting teachers and families. Her work examines how funding, enrollment and state policy influence local school systems. She helps readers understand how education decisions affect students and communities throughout the region. IMPACT: Hilary’s work provides transparency and insight into the schools that serve thousands of local families. | July 26, 2014 9:00 PM
The bumper crop of huckleberries has brought in many local pickers wanting to sell their hand-picked purple gold, Huckleberry Patch Supervisor Shauna Clevidence said.
With the abundance of berries, the Hungry Horse huckleberry business offers between $6 and $6.50 a pound.
“We have a lot of kids who do it for fair money. We have a lot of people where it’s their major source of income in the summertime. But then we have commercial pickers that we buy the bulk of it from. I don’t think we’ll have any problems this year,” Clevidence said.
Clevidence said the Huckleberry Patch caps purchases to roughly 100 pounds a day.
“We already have probably bought 1,000 pounds, if not more, and that’s only been in the last couple of weeks they’ve come in,” Clevidence said.
After the huckleberries come in to the Huckleberry Patch, they are cleaned and packaged. Some huckleberries are sold fresh but the majority are frozen and will be processed over the fall months.
Longtime Huckleberry Patch baker Erna Fortin not only is known for her pies, but she also makes delicacies such as huckleberry fudge.
Fortin said 859 huckleberry pies have been sold since July 1. Her in-demand pies aren’t limited to the store and are also shipped nationwide.
“And the month isn’t even over,” Fortin said.
Last year the Huckleberry Patch sold 4,100 pies.
“When I first started it was around 1,000 pies a year,” Fortin said.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].
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