CAP seeks summer donations, volunteers as local needs continue

Spring’s slowdown in donations and volunteers is hitting Community Action Partnership at the same time the need for food help remains steady in Kootenai County. At CAP’s Coeur d’Alene site, 4144 W. Industrial Loop, the agency is asking for food, money and hands-on help to keep weekly perishable items, food boxes and garden work moving for families who still need support after the holidays fade.

Vincent Fish said the organization sees a familiar pattern each year: holiday giving is strong, then support quiets down as the weather improves. CAP says that drop matters because its food banks depend on both financial and food donations, and on volunteers who help with daily nutrition-program operations. The group also needs people willing to work in the CAP garden behind the building, where carrots and onions from the previous year were already coming back as the new season began.

CAP serves the ten northernmost counties in Idaho and Asotin County, Washington, with food banks in Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah and Nez Perce counties. In Kootenai County, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare lists the Coeur d’Alene location as open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Income-qualified residents in the service area can receive weekly perishable items and food boxes, and CAP administers TEFAP in Lewiston and Coeur d’Alene.

The need is not isolated. Feeding America’s 2025 Map the Meal Gap report said 250,260 Idahoans were food insecure in 2023, including 75,640 children. The Idaho Foodbank said that amounts to 1 in 8 Idahoans and 1 in 6 Idaho children. Kootenai County is not among Idaho’s highest-need counties for food insecurity, but its rising costs help explain why local food assistance remains essential.

U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Kootenai County’s population at 188,323 in July 2024 and 191,864 in July 2025. The county’s median gross rent was $1,492, median owner-occupied home value was $518,700 and 20.8% of residents were age 65 or older. Those numbers point to a community where housing costs, fixed incomes and seasonal income gaps can leave households exposed quickly.

CAP says volunteers matter for more than shelf-stocking and garden work. They also help newcomers connect to the community and give students and job seekers something concrete to put on a résumé or college application. The Idaho Foodbank said more than 25,000 people volunteered there statewide in its last fiscal year, a sign that local food systems still run on community labor as much as donations.