A northern Idaho community meal train stays on track to feed firefighters in wake of tragedy
By Lisa Ormond | FāVS News Reporter
There is an underground, goodwill synergy happening in Northern Idaho that is surrounding, caring and supporting Kootenai County firefighters and their families in the wake of the June 29 Canfield Mountain ambush and shootings of June 29.
That collaboration is focused on nourishment, and many hands are doing everything they can to keep firefighters and those close to them fed with love, care and food.
All hands and hearts on deck
“We have been making meals for five different fire stations in the area; three meals a day, every day this past week and this week, too,” said fire-wife Dana Bellefeuille who co-owns The Village Bakery located in Hayden, Idaho, alongside her husband, Todd, a Spokane Valley firefighter for 16 years.
“We want to make sure our firefighters are taken care of, and they don’t have to worry about food,” she said.
The Bellefeuilles’ bakery is functioning as a meal hub for this grassroots community effort, and the two of them have been laser-focused on this mission since Sunday, the afternoon of the shootings nearly 10 days ago.
“It’s senseless,” Bellefeuille said about the tragedy in her Coeur d’Alene hometown. “I heard about the incident and immediately put wheels in motion because I knew there was going to be needs. And we wanted to make sure those needs were met.”
How it started
Bellefeuille and her husband immediately dropped what they were doing, she said, to come to the aid of their community initially making food for first responders and victims’ families impacted that night.
Without hesitation, she jumped on The Village Bakery Facebook page and put out a call to action to her followers to humbly lend a hand. Right away, people responded, and donations, supplies and helpers came flowing into the store’s doors offering goodwill and support.
Ever since, hands haven’t stopped chopping, wrapping and delivering meals. With over 100 volunteers, donated community funds and its bakery staff, The Village Bakery meal hub makes approximately 90 meals a day totaling 700 meals weekly for Kootenai County fire stations.
“This is the biggest meal train I have ever been a part of. It’s the most amazing thing!” Bellefeuille said in Village Bakery Facebook video.
Other businesses start getting on board
Their heartful, caring initiative planted seeds that are now growing and supporting a daily meal train for area Kootenai firefighters. Volunteers keep showing up at the bakery door, donations keep pouring in and several community restaurants are partnering and supporting the meal train, too.
“I heard about her doing the meals for firefighters and families, and I reached out to her to offer our help,” said Teresa Capone, owner of Capone’s Pub and Grill. “We just wanted to help like everybody else when this happened.”
Capone had never met the Bellefeuilles, but in the past, they ordered cakes from the bakery.
Capone and her husband, Tom, have operated their Capone restaurants in the Northern Idaho area for over 34 years. They have close ties with many first responder groups in Kootenai County.
“It’s the connections. You are a big part of the community (as a restaurant owner),” she said. “This (the firefighter shootings) was personal for us.”
Jesse Eggers, Caruso’s owner in Coeur d’Alene, shared a story about how his restaurant staff offered assistance when asked.
“About 11 a.m. last Saturday, Todd (Bellefeuille) of The Village Bakery walked in here, and he needed about 25 sandwiches made in 30 minutes for firefighters’ lunches,” Eggers said.
According to Eggers, this short order sandwich request didn’t rattle his staff.
“They jumped into high speed for him,” he said. “We always try to be the store that finds a way for people. They stepped up and came through for them.”
Eggers himself wasn’t there that day, but 22-year-old, four-year employee Connor Dremann was.
He’s a fourth generation Coeur d’Alene resident. He made the sandwiches himself.
“I was more than happy to help and make them,” Dremann said.
The shootings have had an impact on him personally, he said, having been born and raised in the community.
“For me, it’s heartbreaking. I feel for the families of the victims because I care about people here,” Dremann said. “I appreciate how we have come together as a community — working keeps my mind off things.”
Free meals available in other ways
Bellefeuille offered kudos to other area businesses who continue to provide food and assistance to firefighters and the community meal train.
“The list is long,” she said. But she gave shout outs to Best Avenue Taco Works and Las Brasas Mexican Grill for being there to help. Both are examples of this community spirit of goodwill support, she said.
These two Mexican food truck restaurants also are giving back in creative ways with “pay-it-forward” gift cards where customer donations are collected real time, on site, for first responders. These monies then cover firefighter meal costs at their business locations.
“We’ve started a gift card and welcome customers to contribute, helping us continue to pay it forward. Our hearts and prayers are with the brothers and sisters who are grieving, and with the families who have lost their heroes,” said Las Brasas on their Facebook page, where they actively advertise their fundraiser for their locations in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene.
Taco Works, an authentic Mexican food truck in Coeur d’Alene, offers the same program.
“We have a gift card that anyone can come and donate to, toward meals for our first responders,” they said on their Facebook page. We will use every cent of it to take care of food for all firefighters, EMS and law enforcement personnel that come by our location.”
The meal train keeps on giving
The Kootenai meal train started by The Village Bakery, which FāVS recently featured, keeps moving along, giving back generously to those firefighters and families that need its services.
“It takes a village. We couldn’t have done any of this without our community,” Bellefeuille said. “The food has been very well received.”
When will the meal train stop?
Bellefeuille and her husband said they really don’t know when the meal train will make its last stop. For right now, they are just grateful and feel blessed to keep it on track if they can, she said.
“Thank you all for coming together,” Bellefeuille said. “We love you all.”
Donations for The Village Bakery’s goodwill meal train for firefighters and their families, can be dropped off at the store, mailed or sent thru the bakery’s Venmo account on Facebook.
