SANDPOINT — The Bonner Community Food Bank garden will provide even more produce for local families this year.

Five raised beds were installed a year ago, and through an $1,850 grant from the Cadeau Foundation, four more beds were installed on Saturday.

“We are going to try to get the most out of these beds that we possibly can, because the food bank numbers are going up like crazy,” said Michele Murphree, Food For Our Children board member.

In its two locations, Sandpoint and Priest River, the food bank provides services to 900 area families, feeding more than 2,500 people each month, with an average of more than 1,000 children per month.

"We are thrilled to be expanding the food bank garden for families and individuals who need the services provided by the food bank," said Debbie Love, food bank executive directr, in an email to the Daily Bee. "The community garden on site creates an opportunity of access for those that cannot afford fresh vegetables and provides hands-on learning for students and volunteers."

The grant also allowed for the automatic watering system to be extended to the new beds. About 65 volunteers — many from Cedar Hills Church, as well as 12 students from the Turning Winds school in Montana — came out Saturday to fill the new beds with dirt, clean up the existing beds, as well as other tasks.

Murphree and Roz Holland, also a board member with Food For Our Children, said they will begin to plant the produce in a week or two, depending on the weather. Soon after, the garden will be bountiful with lettuce, chard, snap peas, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, dill, basil, parsley and more.

“We are going to get tons of produce out of this,” Murphree said.

Holland said they the goal is to plant vegetables and herbs that are productive throughout the entire growing season.

"We are going to try and make it pretty, too," Holland said, adding they will be putting is some flowers, which will not only give the garden additional color, it will also help with pollination.  

The original five beds were installed last April, with Lake Pend Oreille High School students helping to plant seed and sprouts in May. By the end of June, the food bank was providing fresh garden produce to local families, Love said in September when the LPOHS students returned to help clean up the beds at the end of the season. With the five beds, the garden had produced about 120 pounds of produce last season.

"We know that our food bank families are grateful for access to produce, as soon as we put the produce out on the shelves it is gone within the hour it arrives," Love said. "At this time, we have distributed more than 30,000 pounds of produce thanks to partnerships with 2nd Harvest, local farmers, home gardeners, and our local grocery stores.

"The expansion of the garden is a need within our county and by having another avenue to provide healthy choices makes this project very exciting. We would not be able to have done this without the help from our community, especially, Patrick Properties, Cadeau Foundation, Cedar Hills Church, Food For Our Children, Turning Winds School, Equinox Foundation, Home Depot, All Seasons, Juvenile Justice System, Lake Pend Oreille High School, and the Bonner County Coalition for Health."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.