Volunteers fight food shortages | Coeur d'Alene Press

COEUR d'ALENE – Evie Fatz runs her healthy food business, Cōpow, full-time, but when she moved from Nevada to northern Idaho, she couldn't help but look for a way to help combat food insecurity.

Inspired by her connection to the Just One Project in Nevada, when Fatz opened Cōpow she wanted to continue looking for ways to give back and feed a larger portion of the community.

“There should be no one sitting at home with nothing to eat. It should be a dignified experience and not just leftovers from someone else's pantry,” Fatz said.

Since the store opened in Post Falls, she has worked with CASA to reach out to foster families and the Area Office on Aging to provide meals to those who need them.

A separate arm of the company is the Brighter Life Foundation, which has launched a “You Eat, They Eat” program that provides complete meals to seniors, children and those in area addiction treatment homes.

Since opening on May 31, Cōpow has provided 6,547 meals to the foundation for distribution to the community.

On Fridays, volunteers meet outside the store to prepare healthy meals for the community.

Lindsey Brahm was one of half a dozen volunteers who put together about 300 meals on Friday.

As a nursing student at Lewis Clark State College, Brahm jumped at the opportunity to combine the demands of college with a cause she was passionate about.

“I chose Brighter Life because there is a huge food shortage here. It was the perfect place to get my school hours and help,” said Brahm.

Desi Freeman, Cōpow's operations manager, guides Brighter Life Foundation volunteers Shelby Bloxam and Lindsey Brahm through the meal preparation process.