Submitted Photo Gate City Bank employees in Minot drop off food items to the Men’s Winter Refuge.

The Minot Gate City Bank team collected more than 300 items and delivered them personally to Men’s Winter Refuge for the Gate City Bank multi-community food drive, which spanned across all of Gate City’s 45 locations.

“When Gate City Bank told us we were going to do this food drive in conjunction with Giving Hearts Day, they let each individual market choose who they wanted the recipient to be,” said Ellen Knutson, vice president of retail banking in Minot.

“I wanted to take it a step further and let our team members decide who they wanted the recipient to be, and it was almost a unanimous vote, “ she said.

Gate City Bank locations opened up the food drive to all community members including those who were and were not customers. The Minot locations took it a step further and did its own employee push.

“We did some jeans days, where if you wanted to wear jeans to work you had to bring in some food items,” Knutson said. “Our team members really got on board.”

Minot’s Gate City Bank locations do multiple food drives and donations for nonprofits in the area.

“We actually have a food drive going on right now that ended on Thursday, and then we will start up another one following that, “ Knutson said. “The one we are finishing up is the 21st annual heart food drive. There are different drop spots and Gate City has always been one of the premiere drop spots for that.”

For the entire month of February and into March, Gate City will hold “Scouting for food,” a food drive for the Boy Scouts.

“We’ve had a food drive of some sort going on since the year began, “ Knutson said.

Whether it’s the food pantry need or companywide food drives or simply the desire to give, the Minot Gate City locations are always looking to give back to the community.

“One of our principles of high standard is ‘Making a difference,’ whether it is volunteering or philanthropic giving, we try to do a lot of things that are beneficial for the community,” Knutson said.

“Our saying is ‘For a better way of life’ and that’s really what we want to do for our team members and for our community,” she said.