Bill proposes program to connect Montana food pantries, farms, ranches

HELENA — Advocates say the final 12 months has seen an enormous spike in folks searching for assist from Montana meals pantries. Now, they’re supporting a proposed new grant program, geared toward creating new partnerships to carry recent native merchandise to households in want.

“Individuals are actually enthusiastic about what this may very well be for our state,” stated Lorianne Burhop, chief coverage officer for the Montana Meals Financial institution Community.

MFBN is endorsing Home Invoice 276, sponsored by Rep. Marty Malone, R-Pray. The invoice would set up a “Farm to Meals Financial institution” program, during which organizations would function “meals hubs” – making agreements to buy Montana-grown meals merchandise and distribute them to meals pantries of their areas.

This system would apply to fruit, greens, meat, legumes, entire grains, eggs, and dairy from Montana farms and ranches, in addition to meals merchandise with primarily Montana-grown elements.

HB 276 would offer $1 million in state funding for the subsequent two years.

“There’s quite a lot of curiosity; there’s quite a lot of items already being set in native communities,” stated Burhop. “However what’s lacking is commonly the funding. So to have two years of state funding to assist get this off the bottom – exhibit what a actuality it may be for our state – I feel that can assist to encourage further personal assist, public assist, actually make this a partnership going ahead, to say that is good for Montana.”

Burhop says the necessity for meals pantries initially spiked through the pandemic, then lowered when COVID-related help applications took impact. She stated the top of these applications, mixed with the rise in inflation, has led to a different spike. MFBN information reveals about 44,000 households used Montana meals pantries in November 2022, up from 29,000 in November 2021.

“At this level, the numbers at Montana’s meals pantries are both at or above the place we noticed them again in March 2020 – and it is seemingly extra sustained at this level,” stated Burhop. “It hasn’t been only a bump after which again down; it has been month after month these numbers stay excessive.”

Supporters of HB 276 say it might not solely present much-needed recent meals for these households, but in addition broaden the marketplace for Montana farms and ranches.

“If a farmer has extra vegatables and fruits, they’ll take them and market them to an area meals financial institution which is close by, retains their all their produce within the neighborhood, locally the place it is simpler to maintain recent,” stated Jasmine Krotkov, a lobbyist for the Montana Farmers Union. “And it is a dependable marketplace for them.”

Krotkov stated the invoice would carry a number of layers of advantages for rural communities.

“Farm communities in Montana have a few of the identical struggles as some other rural group, and starvation generally is a drawback there,” she stated. “So it advantages for farmers to have some place to promote their items, and for them to have some place to entry items that they do not develop on their farms.”

HB 276 is about for a primary listening to Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., within the Home Agriculture Committee.