Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of features about non-profit organizations in the Golden Belt area.

It’s hidden just off 10th street. Only a half block away, it silently takes care of those in need.

The Community Food Bank of Barton County goes about its business quietly three days a week. With a great deal of volunteer help and donations, the local organization located at 3007 10th Street, has taken what a normal food bank would do to the next level.

Three days a week, the Food Bank provides to those who qualify. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they are there to give out a variety of food from 1-3 p.m. Ruth Behrens is the Director of the Food Bank, as well as President of the Board.

While the local board is in charge of the Food Bank, it is a group of volunteers who run the show. Behrens is one of them volunteering her time as the non-profit organization receives a lot of help from community members.

“We generally have 325 hours of volunteer time by the end of the month,” Laura Williams, Office Manager at the Food Bank said. “We have six or seven people helping out each day.”

To qualify for assistance at the food bank, you need to get in touch with them from 12:30-1 p.m. on the days they are open. It serves all of Barton County with the exception of Hoisington and Ellinwood, which have their own food banks.

While many food banks give out canned food and other non-perishable items, the Great Bend Food Bank also provides its clients with meat.

“A lot of food banks do not give meat or milk,” meat manager of the Food Bank Marsha Gillenwater said. “That is more specific to ours.

“Each person gets about six pounds. A family of seven would get roughly 40 pounds.”

Much of that meat is donated, as are other items at the Food Bank. Produce items are also donated, but it varies on what stores have available.

Walmart and Dillons provide about half the meat as well as various other items. They are affiliated with the Kansas Food Bank and will freeze and donate near-expiration meats as well as dairy and bakery items. It is part of a program called Food Rescue.

Some of the items are purchased through the Kansas Food Bank based out of Wichita. Others are donated by businesses or individuals. In addition, local food drives help keep the pantry stocked.

Another major player in the Food Bank is the Barton County Association of Churches. They not only help with cash donations, they provide volunteers for each shift.

Williams said that the churches in the community each pick a month to provide workers to help bag the non-perishable items.

The parking lot starts to fill up at 12:30 p.m. and the phone begins to ring at that time inside as well with families checking on their status.

“They will call and check to see if it has been 30 days since their last visit,” Williams said. “They get to come in 10 times a year.

“It becomes busier at the end of the month as families begin to run out of SNAP money and other benefits.”

Just recently the food bank provided food for 25 families and 78 people in a single day.

The Food Bank of Barton County serves around 5,000 individuals over the course of a year and assists about 200 families a month.

Also here in Barton County, the Hoisington Food Bank is open from 2-4 p.m. the second Monday of each month and from 4-6 p.m .the fourth Monday. It is located in the basement of the First United Methodist Church.

The Ellinwood Food Bank is located in the Immanuel United Church of Christ. It is open during the day Mondays from 2-5 p.m. and in the evenings on Thursdays from 4-7 p.m.

Food banks across the state of Kansas serve more than 60,000 families each month and impact more than 400,000 people over the course of a year.