Earlier this month customers at the North Valley Food Bank got the opportunity for the first time to pick out their own groceries.

The food bank opened its grocery store inside its facility after completing a major remodel project that allowed for the creation of the store space, increased storage room along with freezer and cooler space, and added a commercial kitchen to the building.

Sophie Albert, executive director of the food bank, said nearly 90 households took advantage of the grocery store shopping option on the first day it was open.

“They loved it,” she said. “They were able to walk in to shop choosing what they want and need. And we have some customers with special dietary needs so for them it was even more important that they could choose their own food.”

The grocery store operates on Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. Drive-thru services are still offered on Thursdays from noon to 4:30 p.m.

There are no eligibility requirements to receive food. Customers are allowed to select as much food as they need when coming to the grocery store.

When customers first arrive they are greeted by a food bank team member or volunteer who explains the layout of the store, then they use a shopping cart to pick out the food or hygiene items they need.

The grocery store model is intended to allow customers to better meet and plan for their needs, the food bank notes, but also part of larger changes at the facility to better meet the growing needs in the Flathead Valley.

In the past three years, the food bank has seen its customer base triple. In a recent week, the food bank saw its highest number of customers serving 290 households.

Opening the grocery store was made possible through the recently completed more than $1 million remodel and expansion of the food bank building. The remodel included expansion of the dry goods warehouse space and an increase in the refrigeration and freezer space for perishable food.

Albert says being able to store more food is critical, especially at certain times of the year.

“This gives us space to store Thanksgiving turkeys and when we’re able to process food in the fall to freeze it’s important to have that space also,” she said. “It’s also important for us to help smaller food pantries that don’t have as much space for storage.”

The final piece of the remodel includes a commercial kitchen. The food bank still needs to raise $150,000 to finish that portion of the project.

Once completed, the kitchen will include food processing equipment that will allow for food preservation such as creating applesauce from donations of apples in the fall. Future plans include hosting cooking classes, culinary skills training, creating meal kits and providing food samples.

North Valley Food Bank is located at 251 Flathead Avenue in Whitefish. More information can be found at northvalleyfoodbank.org