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6.12.08 | Keeping it cool Refrigerated trucks and expanded cooler/freezer space brings quality nutrition to thousands of Montanans.
In April, with the help of Representative Dennis Rehberg, the House and Senate Appropriation Committees passed an appropriation request from the Montana Food Bank Network to budget for the transport of donated food to major need centers in Helena, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls, Billings, Kalispell, and Missoula. The successful passage of the request meant that more communities throughout the state would be served statewide through the Missoula Food Bank Network’s hubs. However, the budget did not include enough funding for refrigerated trucks for each major food bank.
The Missoula Food Bank has a refrigerated van and has seen the impact its use has made in the community. “Because of our ability to rescue prepared and perishable food with a refrigerated vehicle, local donors have given us the opportunity to rescue hundreds of tons of food that would otherwise become community waste,” said Cynthia Lotty, Executive Director.
As the spearhead organization for the original appropriation request, the Missoula Food Bank approached the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation to help shore up the budget shortfall so that all of the major community food banks could purchase refrigerated trucks for their organizations. "I am hopeful that the other large food banks in the state will be able to rescue thousands of pounds of food with the proper equipment for safe food handling and distribution," said Lotty. "Thousands of Montanans will benefit."
In addition to funding for the trucks, the Foundation announced that they are awarding a $50,000 grant to the Montana Food Bank Network to help expand their capacity specifically their freezer/cooler space. The Network, based in Missoula, is planning a $1.4 million expansion project that would more than double the size of its warehouse and offices. The planned 43,000 cubic square foot freezer and refrigerator space will allow the Network to store larger quantities of higher quality food for distribution.
"The demand for emergency food throughout all 189 agencies that we serve in the state is off the charts and will likely get worse. With demand increasing, we’ve outgrown our space," said Mark Brennan, Montana Food Bank Network’s Director of Development. "Right now, we have less than a semi-trailer’s worth of freezer/cooler space. There is quality food that we can’t go after because we don’t have a place to put it."
The ability to store and transport perishable food that requires cold temperatures will open up a world of opportunity, not just to rescue more food, but to rescue better food that is available more often. The Montana Food Bank Network is able to efficiently deliver food to 189 emergency food centers across the state. “While some of the food is donated, some is obtained with minimal charges such as shipping and certain types of food are purchased through a wholesale mechanism," said Brennan. This combination has allowed them to generate eight meals for every donated dollar the Food Bank Network received.
The Montana Food Bank Network has partnered with the Foundation before. Most recently, they helped distribute 50,000 pounds of potatoes donated by the Foundation to food banks and emergency food centers across the state. The Network also received a grant to pilot a backpack program where they bring food to grade schools. The food is sorted into child-friendly proportions, packed into backpacks or bags and distributed to kids to take home for the weekend.
"For lower income children, basically their main source of meals is free or reduced price breakfast and lunches in the schools. This is a tremendous program. The kids show up on Monday feeling good and ready to learn," said Brennan. Desmet Elementary School is piloting the program and next fall it will expand into a number of other Missoula County schools. "Then we’ll help enable other food banks around the state to do the same thing," said Brennan.
