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Foundation gives $229,000 to 79 Montana food banks, pantries, rescue missions, and shelters

Published
Nov 14, 2019
A small group of four volunteers are seen standing at a table full of cardboard boxes as they pack them with non-perishable food items at a local Food Bank. A young mixed race girl is working with three seniors as they happily give of their time for the cause and carefully pack the items into the boxes.

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, working with the Missoula-based Montana Food Bank Network, has selected 79 food banks, food pantries, rescue missions and homeless shelters across Montana to receive additional grant funds to aid them in helping Montana’s most vulnerable citizens. The Foundation’s special Holiday Giving Program is designed to give an extra boost to basic needs organizations around the holiday season.

“Basic needs organizations continuously struggle to meet the growing demand for their services, especially during the holiday season,” Foundation Executive Director Mike Halligan said. “Our goal with this extra donation is to get badly needed resources into the hands of the staff and volunteers of these critically important organizations in order to meet the food and shelter needs of our fellow Montanans.”

In Montana, 1 in 9 people struggle with hunger and 1 in 6 Montana children live in homes that face food insecurity, putting them at risk of hunger. Good nutrition, particularly in the early years of life, is important for establishing a solid foundation that affects a child’s future physical and mental health, academic achievement and economic productivity.

List of recipient organizations – Holiday Giving 2019

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About the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation is the major philanthropic organization for The Washington Companies and the Washington Family. The Foundation strives to better the human condition by supporting programs and services that give people the tools to enhance the quality of their lives and to benefit society as a whole. Funding for the Foundation comes from personal contributions from the Washington Family and annual contributions from The Washington Companies.

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