Community

Evergreen is an independent, unincorporated community in an urban setting. It is a place where people live, work, engage in commerce, attend school, worship, fellowship, and enjoy life. Evergreen is dynamic and may hold a few surprises.

Evergreen has the 2nd largest population of any place in Flathead County, behind only Kalispell. Evergreen is rapidly growing, nearly doubling its population over the past two decades. Evergreen had a population of 7,616 people in 2010, up from 6,216 people in 2000, a 23% increase. As of July 1, 2017, Evergreen has an estimated population of 8,400.

The Evergreen School District has over 700 total students in the K-4 elementary, 5-8 junior high, and Crossroads Program. It is the largest K-8 district in the Flathead Valley, 4th largest K-8 school district in Montana, and 40th largest of all school districts, high schools included, in Montana (of 409 districts)

As an unincorporated area, Evergreen has no local government that focuses solely on it as a community. The Flathead County Board of Commissioners, a body comprised of 3 elected individuals, each with terms of 6 years, is the local body for the Evergreen community.

Much of Evergreen’s history centers on rivers, highways, the independent commitment of the citizens, and Kalispell.

The Whitefish River runs through Evergreen and the Flathead River serves as Evergreen’s east boundary. U.S. Highway 2, a four-lane highway, runs through the heart of Evergreen—the “Evergreen Strip”. It directly connects Evergreen with Glacier National Park International Airport, Columbia Falls, and Glacier National Park. Visitors traveling south from the airport to Bigfork, Kalispell, Lakeside, Somers, and Flathead Lake pass through Evergreen before reaching their destinations. Montana Highway 35, a two-lane highway, leads directly to the Flathead River, the farmlands of Creston, Bigfork and Flathead Lake.

Evergreen has developed its schools, fire district, community water system, wastewater collection system, and rich history because of the strong support of its residents. There is a deep sense of pride among many of Evergreen’s residents and business owners that Evergreen in not incorporated and features many of the urban benefits without the burden of higher property taxes and government regulation, is largely independent, and that it has and wants to retain its own unique identity It is this spirit that gave birth to the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce.

The Evergreen Chamber has partnered with the Evergreen Community Partners in an effort to improve the pedestrian infrastructure in Evergreen. Without a current bus system, our Evergreen school children are walking to and from the junior high on the busy and dangerous Highway 2 corridor. In addition, during the winter months, pedestrian traffic is treacherous and almost impassable for foot traffic – it is time for the Evergreen community to come together and address this issue. The committee plans to apply for an upcoming MDT grant to offset some of the build-out costs. The Montana Department of Transportation will require a Community Match. Your help is needed - Please DONATE NOW for the Evergreen Kids.

Flathead Food Bank's mission is to eliminate hunger in the Flathead through collaborative partnerships creating effective solutions to connect and strengthen individuals, families and the community through access to healthy nutritious food. The Flathead Food Bank seeks to nourish communities with healthy food because we believe that no one deserves to be hungry.

We provide food at our Kalispell Pantry, our student Back Pack Program, our Mobile Pantry serving rural communities, and our Commodity Supplemental Food Program for seniors in the Flathead valley. Our current Kalispell Pantry hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am to noon for seniors over 60 years old and 1pm to 4pm for general public. For more information visit www.flatheadfoodbank.org or call 406-752-3663.

The Salvation Army Kalispell is a worship and community center that provides the local community with needed services which include hot meals, laundry and shower facilities; Family Assistance and Holiday Assistance. Our International Mission Statement is – "The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination."

The North West Montana Veterans Stand Down & Food Pantry is dedicated to extending a helping hand up to homeless, low-income, and at-risk veterans and their families. These heroes have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution and people of the United States of America and now we must uphold them in their time of need.

• Raising community awareness to and advocating for the unmet needs of veterans.
• Nourishing hungry veterans and their families with nutritional food boxes.
• Equipping homeless and newly housed veteran households with clothing and furnishings.
• Outreaching as many veterans as possible through our biannual Stand Downs.
• Thrift Store and Furniture store is open to the public where all veterans receive a 10 percent discount.
• Providing veteran to veteran peer counseling and referrals to homeless shelters, housing, jobs, VA medical clinics, mental health specialists and other community resources.
• Building self-esteem by extending a helping hand up NOT a hand out; we provide a warm welcome, haircuts by appointment, access to laundry & shower facilities and hot coffee.
• DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Loan Program open to those who need assistance for short term care.

The North West Montana Veterans Stand Down & Food Pantry has been in operation for over 21 years. We could not do everything we do without the financial and volunteer support of the Flathead Valley and beyond. Contact us at any time at www.veteransfoodpantry.org or call 406-756-7304

"The Boys & Girls Club of Glacier Country is a fun, engaging and educational after-school and summer program for youth in grades Kindergarten through Seniors in High School. The Club provides crucial activities and mentorship during the hours after school lets out, and before guardians return home, to youth across all spectrums of life. Staff at the Boys & Girls Club plan and provide structured programming designed to actively engage the Members with the focus being on homework help, character and leadership development, sports and recreation, life skills, the arts and healthy lifestyles.

With the main location in Columbia Falls, the Club is coming back into Evergreen to offer programming for youth in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade starting in August of 2021. The leadership and staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Glacier Country strive to see the successful execution of our Mission: to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens."

Our Mission Statement
Connecting the Community to Build A Brighter Tomorrow.

Our Vision
Our United Way is a catalyst for meeting basic needs, helping children and youth succeed, strengthening and supporting families and individuals, building vital and safe communities, and promoting self-sufficiency.

Our Goals
Improve education for all youth in our community and reduce the number of high school dropouts. Help people achieve financial stability and get working families on the road to economic independence. Promote healthy lives and increase the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors.

These goals are ambitious, but with your help, we can achieve them.

In 1954 the members of our community got together and donated time, money, and effort to found The Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department. Countless hours have been given to help save life and property in the district. Many of our friends and neighbors gave up time at work and home, not only to respond to emergencies, but to attend the many hours of training necessary to be proficient at their duties. We look back on the past members of this department and honor them for the sacrifices they made to help protect their community. Those of us serving now are the recipients of a great amount of community trust built by the firefighters that went before us, and we strive to act in a way that carries on with the proud tradition.

In 2007 the department changed its name to Evergreen Fire Rescue in order to reflect the increased demand for emergency medical and rescue services we provide in Evergreen.

Today's Sheriff's Posse works closely with Flathead County Sheriff's Department and is made up of volunteers who care about and want to serve their community. The primary objectives of the Flathead County Sheriff's Posse are to Support the Sheriff in his service to the citizens of the county; to preserve crime scene evidence; to aid in natural disasters and evacuation efforts for protection of the public; to provide security at the Northwest Montana Fair; to provide crowd control at large community events; and to support other Law Enforcement Agencies throughout Flathead County such as Kalispell, Bigfork, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls.