St. Anthony’s Fisherman’s Breakfast returns

ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (KIFI) - After two years, St. Anthony’s annual Fisherman’s Breakfast is back.

The free breakfast feeds thousands every year and is a long-held tradition in St. Anthony.

"The tradition began in the 1950s. Residents wanted to motivate people passing through to stop in the town and visit businesses," St. Anthony Chamber of Commerce Vice President Nolan Vander Linden said. "They began giving free breakfast to fishermen who passed through St. Anthony on the way to Island Park and other fishing spots. The breakfast consisted of coffee and a donut."

The breakfast has expanded to include the entire community and now features pancakes, hashbrowns, sausages and beverages. It takes about 100 volunteers to run the event.

“None of this can happen without the good people getting involved,” Vander Linden said. “Time is the biggest donation that we need from people.”

Vander Linden hopes attendees leave the breakfast with a sense of unity.

“I hope they just leave with a full belly for one, that’s our object,” Vander Linden said. “And a sense of unity among our small town. Even though we get a lot of strangers, you won’t be a stranger long.”

Although the largest attendance at the breakfast was about 11,000, this year organizers expect between 4,000-5,000.