Firemen provide food at Christmas once again

Members of the Lovell Volunteer Fire Department set up the traditional assembly line of donated food items Monday to put together the annual Christmas baskets given to area families in need, then fanned out throughout the fire district – essentially all of north Big Horn County – to once again provide joy and some tasty meals at Christmas.
Assistant fire chief Bob Mangus said the firemen made 170 baskets – actually boxes – this year, and as of Tuesday, only a handful had yet to be delivered or picked up.
The main source of the food items are annual drives conducted at Lovell Elementary School and Rocky Mountain Elementary School, which combined this year to provide more than 3,600 items of food for the Christmas baskets. Lovell Middle School also provides some items, along with some individuals in the community, Mangus said. Firemen picked up the food at area schools on December 11.
Small businesses, corporations and individuals also donate money for items to be purchased by the fire department, and money leftover is given to the Lovell Food Pantry at the Lovell United Methodist Church and/or the monthly commodities program at St. John’s Lutheran Church.
This year, some $11,400 was donated to the food basket program, Mangus said.
It’s good to have strong donations, since food costs are rising. Hams, for instance, are $4 more per item than a year ago. The department does have money in an account in case a given year’s fundraising falls short of covering the baskets.
Provided in the baskets are various canned goods, non-perishable items like pasta and cereal, canned meat, toiletries, cookies, potatoes and fresh items like hams, milk, eggs and cheese.
Mangus estimated that there is up to $75 worth of food in each basket.
The LVFD has distribution help in Deaver/Frannie and Byron. Mangus said the Deaver-Frannie Fire Department distributed 35 baskets in their area, and the Byron Lions Club distributed 45 baskets in the Byron area. Lovell firemen handles the Lovell and Cowley area and other rural areas in Fire Protection District No. 1.
Mangus said having telephone numbers for families receiving food is important, because some families can be called and arrangements made for them to come to the firehall to receive their baskets or let the department know when they’ll be home, saving the firemen a lot of time.