At the Montana ExpoPark on Saturday, shoppers and vendors supported the Great Falls Community Food Bank at the 19th annual One Stop Shop.
Shoppers offered nonperishable foods or a donation to the food bank in place of an entrance fee.
Attendees were able to access some of their favorite businesses all at one location.
Around 50 vendors donated a silent auction item for browsers to bid on. The proceeds from the auction were then used as donations for the food bank.
Event organizer Trish Roberts helped start this event nearly two decades ago and has watched it grow: “We thought the home businesses could get together, so what we did is got only four different businesses together in a basement of our house. and then we moved on to a hotel and got bigger and bigger. And now we're here at the fairgrounds for quite a few years already,”
Roberts loves the opportunity to support the food bank, which is in great need of donations this time of year.
“They need it at this time of the year. they're depleted at Thanksgiving, Christmas...The last five years we raised a thousand dollars for the food bank and at least three to four barrels full of food. So it's quite a bit and goes far for them,” Roberts said.
If you missed the one stop shop but would still like to show your support, the Great Falls Community Food Bank accepts donations year-round.
