"You never really know what people’s stories are."

Community Action Partnership Coeur d'Alene food bank program manager Darrell Rickard said this as he recalled the many stories he's witnessed in his time serving those in need.

"We had a young couple come in. They had two small children, one a toddler and one a little younger," he shared. "The family all seemed well dressed and well taken care of. You could tell it was their first time to the food bank.

“As they gathered their needed groceries and began to walk away, the mother turned back around and said, 'I didn’t even know you guys were here. Thank God you saved our lives this month.' It was obvious to me that something had disrupted their normal routine and put them, at least temporarily, in a bad way. But I felt like we helped them get through at least the hungry part."

At Atlas Elementary School, students are encouraged to bring in cans of tuna on "Tuna Tuesday." Whoever brings in the most cans gets rewarded by a visit from "Billy the Bass," an animatronic singing fish prop.

"The kids love it," said Principal Heather Somers. "We then donate the cans to the food bank, so the Families Feeding Families program fits right in with that."

The Kroc Center's Families Feeding Families February Food Drive is launching on Saturday to fill food bank shelves that are experiencing a post-holiday dip.

The months immediately following the holidays can be some of the hardest for local food banks. Most donations stop altogether once the New Year begins, and shelves are often bare.

The Kroc Center moved its Families Feeding Families drive from November to February last year after hearing the struggle local food bank partners experience in the months following the holidays.

It’s working.

In 2019, the first February drive successfully collected more than 850 boxes of food that were delivered to 18 local food banks and food pantries in the area. The goal for 2020 is collecting 1,000 boxes of food.

The Kroc Center partners with Fred Meyer, providing a shopping list of the most requested items from the food banks: canned tuna and chicken, cereal, canned fruit, macaroni and cheese, pasta and more.

Those who want to help can pick up a shopping list at the Kroc's front desk or download one at www.kroccda.org/fff. The Kroc will also accept monetary donations that staff members will use to purchase any remaining items on the list that the food banks need.

The following food banks are the designated locations the Kroc is partnering with in the five northern counties:

- 1st Baptist Church • Bonners Ferry Community Action Partnership Food Bank • Boys and Girls Club • Canvas Church Pantry • CdA CAP • Disabled Veterans of America • Father Bill’s Kitchen • Heart of the City — Father’s House • Kalidescope Community Services • Lake City Church Food Bank • Post Falls Food Bank • Priest Lake Food Bank • Priest River Food Bank (Bonner Community Food Bank) • Rathdrum Food Bank • Real Life Ministries Food Bank • Safe Passage • Shoshone County Community Action Partnership • Spirit Lake Food Bank • St. Vincent de Paul — Women’s Shelter • Wallace Food Bank • West Bonner County Food Bank

Those willing to donate items to Families Feeding Families can drop off food items at the Kroc Center Feb. 1 through 14. The Kroc is at 1765 W. Golf Course Road in Coeur d’Alene.