Community Action Partnership Food Bank

Mission Statement:

Community Action Partnership is the catalyst to end poverty in our communities. We believe that all people need sufficient money, relationships and meaning in their lives to thrive.

Contact Info:

• 4942 Industrial Avenue East, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815
• phone: 208-664-8757
• fax: 208-664-8586

Company Profile:

Community Action Partnership offers multiple services to Kootenai County residents from its office in the Coeur d’Alene Industrial Park. Services are offered based upon income and family size. Some services are available on a walk-in basis, others require an appointment. United Way of Kootenai County provides funding to the large food bank.

Services Provided:

Food Bank – The emergency food box program includes approximately a week’s worth of food for the entire household. Clients may receive three food boxes in a twelve month program. The Clearinghouse Program is available once per week and includes a variety of perishable and overstocked items, typically produce, breads (specialty and sliced), pastries and, occasionally, dairy items. Thanksgiving Baskets are provided to approximately eight hundred families, with sign-ups taken on a first come/first served basis in early November each year.

Energy Assistance

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program assists clients in keeping their households warm and safe during the cold winter months, usually between December and early spring. Project Share channels donations provided by area utility customers toward the needs of local residents.

Home Weatherization

Home weatherization begins with a home energy audit and may provide improvements that will help make the home more weather tight and improve the efficiency of the home heat source, lowering utility costs.

Idaho Telephone Service Assistance Program

The Idaho Telephone Service Assistance Program provides assistance toward the expenses of a land telephone line.

Financial Assistance for Basic Needs

Depending on a client’s situation and the availability of funding, clients may qualify for a small amount of financial assistance for basic needs.

Family Development

Family Development provides an opportunity for clients to set goals, overcome barriers to self-sufficiency and to reach their full potential.

More Info:

Apart from the reality of living as a low income individual or family, the faces and stories of Community Action Partnership’s client families couldn’t be more diverse. A significant number are disabled adults or senior citizens that are simply unable to earn any income for their households. Others are young adults not yet established and unable to fully support themselves. The majority is families with children; some headed by single parents others by two parents. In fact, 40% of those served by our food bank are children under the age of 18.

In understanding the experience of low income families, it becomes apparent that a statistically significant number of families discover that an unexpected illness, job loss or layoff or a divorce has eroded their middle class lifestyle, causing them to slide into poverty. Other families share their past experience of growing up in poverty and their current struggles at breaking the cycle of poverty. Each story is individual and unique, reflecting the diversity of the families they represent.

Throughout 2004, 4,597 Kootenai County families (made up of 11,596 individuals) received food from Community Action Partnership, nearly 10% of the Kootenai County population. This important work could not be accomplished without a healthy partnership with the community. Whether the contributions come through large, established food drives, from the financial contributions of businesses, service clubs, from the faith community or individuals or United Way of Kootenai County, all are valuable building blocks for our work.

We are grateful for the broad-based support offered to us as we fulfill our commitment to service.

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