BUTTE - This Irish soda bread at Shawn O’Donnell’s can really fight hunger, just like the Thompson Family Food Drive that’s been fighting hunger in Butte for 37 years.
“I can’t even describe how excited it gets me that the town of Butte every single year comes together as a big family to help out those in need,” Josh Thompson of Thompson Distributing said.
The food drive started in 1989 as a Junior Achievement project that covered one neighborhood in town.
“They covered the one neighborhood in about 8 hours and got two pickup trucks full of food. And, of course, from that point until today, 37 years later, we’ll hit the entire town of Butte within three hours,” Scott Thompson said.
For 37 years, the Thompson family food drive has brought Butte together to fight hunger. This year's goal: 100,000 pounds of food
The food drive will go on again on Dec. 6th, and people are asked to leave non-perishable food items on their porch before 10 a.m. They can also leave cash donations, and all items will go to the Butte Emergency Food Bank.
This year, they hope to collect about 100,000 pounds of food and $75,000 in donations.
“It’s a lofty goal, I mean, we haven’t hit quite that close before, but we think this year with everything going on with the SNAP benefits, food insecurity, the food bank’s going to need it now more than ever,” Scott Thompson said.
Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub will be hosting a fundraiser on Monday, Nov. 10th, with the food drive. Twenty percent of food sales that day from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the restaurant, will be donated to the food drive.
As an Irishman, the owner said fighting hunger is a personal task for him.
“During the 1920s, a period of great hunger during the Irish Civic War, it was the people of Butte, Montana, who were first in line to send assistance to my part of Ireland in the north. And that’s something that’s not lost on me and is a debt of gratitude,” Irish Johnny of Shawn O'Donnell's said.
