Teen making a difference this summer feeding less fortunate

Mailee Windauer is helping battle hunger this summer.

Windauer, who will be a senior at Columbia Falls High School this fall, will be delivering bags of food for school-aged children to take home through her new Walk in New Directions (WIND) Project.

In partnership with the Columbia Falls Child Assistance Team (CFCAT) and Farm Hands - Nourish the Flathead, Project WIND began offering the food for pickup at several locations in Columbia Falls and in the Canyon last week.

According to Windauer, the idea for Project WIND came in May during a meeting of the United Way’s Leaders of Tomorrow program in Kalispell near the end of the school year.

“It was the last meeting of the year and we were brainstorming ideas of how to help students in the area, but I didn’t think we would have time to get anything up and going this year,” Windauer said.

Luckily for Windauer, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. When she approached CFCAT Director Tamara Sundberg about the idea, Sundberg was getting ready to meet with Farm Hands about their project to provide students with lunches during the summer months. Windauer was invited to sit in on that meeting and Project WIND was born.

“Everything came together so quickly. I had the idea and then everything was rolling in about 24 hours. It really has been amazing,” Windauer said “I’ve been stunned by how quickly everything fell into place.”

Things continued falling into place for Windauer and Project WIND over the following weeks. Her father, Tien Windauer, owner of Tien’s Place Restaurant in Columbia Falls, donated the use a food truck for the project and even hosted a spaghetti feed fundraiser, which brought in nearly $3,000 for the project on May 19.

“My dad is very excited about it and has been doing everything he can to help. He’s been a huge part of this,” Mailee said.

Mailee used the funds to help purchase food for the first bags, which were handed out at Farm Hands summer lunches across the area for the first time Friday.

Farm Hands, which is providing Project WIND with fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, is offering free lunches for children ages 18 and under at several locations this summer.

“We’ve been working hard with a lot of partners to look at the meal gaps that are happening in the Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse, Martin City and Coram areas. We are working to figure out how we can plug those gaps. It’s been amazing to see all of the people who have come together to make this happen,” Farm Hands Executive Director Gretchen Boyer said. “We knew the lunch program would be great for kids during the week, but we didn’t have a way to get them food for the weekends. Mailee’s program is going to do just that. Together, our programs should go a long way to helping kids in the valley.”

The free lunches and weekend food bags for children ages 18 and under are available at the following locations and times each week:

Horine Park - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Columbia Falls Boys and Girls Club - Noon to 12:30 p.m.

Canyon Elementary - 11:15-11:45 a.m.

Martin City Fire Hall - 11:50 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

Canyon Community Church in Coram - 12:30-1 p.m.