Montana Food Bank Network Partner Agency News December 2014

Transcription

1 Montana Food Bank Network Partner Agency News December 2014 In this Issue: PAGE 2 PAs, BackPack, and School Pantry PAGE 4 REMINDER: TANF MOUs PAGE 5 Hungry in MT Report Released ORDERS DUE: December 19 MARs DUE: December 15 For more updates and information, visit us at: insidemfbn.org Using Key Partners to Grow a Food Pantry A Story From Polson Loaves & Fish Food Pantry When it comes to finding a new location for a food pantry, Polson Loaves & Fish knows it takes every trick in the box. Even once a location is secured, there are renovation and equipment costs. Between 2009 and 2013, Polson Loaves & Fish was able to get all of these moving pieces in line with the help of an active board of directors, Town Pump Foundation, USDA Rural Development, and Walmart. Bryan River of Polson Loaves & Fish explains that the key guy during the process was board president, Sid Rundell. As a community member who is active with local organizations and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Sid was able to get the right people on the board and got them focused on finding a new location. In 2009, a local nonprofit, no longer able to continue its operations approached the pantry with an incredible deal on a property covering five city lots. During their location search, the Loaves & Fish board had been raising funds through the Town Pump Foundation matching grant program. As a result, when the opportunity arose, they were able to take advantage, secure the property, and begin renovations with added help from community donations and generous in-kind support. Loaves & Fish moved into their new facility with 13 residential freezers and refrigerators. Knowing the units were less than ideal, Bryan took over an application with USDA Rural Development. Rural Development (RD) is an agency of the USDA that makes loans to public bodies and not-for-profit corporations in rural areas to construct or improve needed community facilities. Essentially, RD is a team of financial analysts that are skilled at working with organizations to guide them through grant and loan processes and rewarding them for their efforts. Loaves & Fish began project discussions with RD in 2008 and in the spring of 2010, $20,000 was awarded to the pantry for necessary equipment: a walk-in freezer and forklift. The total expense was $36,500, the balance of which was matched with cash raised by the pantry. Bryan explains that this was all fortuitous timing for the pantry, who was then able to give away half of the residential units to other agencies in St Ignatius, Ronan, and Hot Springs. Shortly thereafter, Bryan had the thought that another walk-in would be helpful for the pantry to accommodate increased food donations, when RD approached Loaves & Fish again and suggested Continued on Page 2 Featured Product: Frozen Salmon Steaks This shopping list we are featuring Frozen Salmon Steaks (I7131). We have 768 cases (50/1LB steaks per case) at $30.00/case. Check out our simple, 4 ingredient recipe for Soy Glazed Salmon Steaks on page 6!

2 2 THE AFFILIATE MFBN Partner Agencies Lend a Hand with School Pantry and BackPack Programs New Life Mission and Poplar Public Schools The most recent addition to our BackPack Program is in Poplar, MT. Poplar is a small Eastern Montana town on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation with a population steadily increasing due to work in the Bakken oil fields. Montana Food Bank Network s partner agency in Poplar, New Life Mission, is a homeless shelter that also serves hot meals and as a food pantry for the community. We have been working with Terry Graham of New Life Mission and Kim Harding of Poplar Public Schools to address the problem of child hunger in the community. With an 85-87% Free & Reduced participation rate across grades K-12, Harding knew she needed to find a way to make sure all Poplar students were fed and ready to learn. The school district applied for both the BackPack Program, and to implement a school pantry at the high school. School pantries are a flexible, meaningful way to impact older students and families by providing direct service to students. New Life Mission has agreed to act as a fiscal sponsor for the school district lending their tax-exempt status allowing the school to purchase food from MFBN at wholesale costs, and stretching their budget to impact more families in need. Dawson County Food Bank and Glendive Schools Our BackPack Program in Glendive has been distributing food to chronically hungry children since 2011, and coordinator Michaela Murphy recently teamed up with Dawson County Food Bank who will serve as the fiscal sponsor for Jefferson and Lincoln elementary schools. Jean Walters of Dawson County Food bank was happy to enter into a partnership with the schools because she knows the value of meeting the needs of the community s children. Students who are food insecure are at risk of lowered learning ability and poor cognitive development, lower math and reading scores, behavior problems, and increased absences and tardiness at school. By partnering with the BackPack program, Jean and Michaela are making sure 60 children have food on the weekends, and the security of knowing where their next meal will come from. Polson Story- Continued from Page 1 that they submit a second request. Calling it an interactive process, Bryan dutifully completed the application with great help from USDA RD, and in August 2013, Rural Development awarded $10,500 to match the pantry s contribution for a total project cost of $21,000. In October 2013, a new Super Walmart opened in Polson creating more opportunity for Loaves & Fish. With Store Manager Dan DeWitt on their side, they saw an influx of donations. With the space provided by their new walk-ins, Loaves & Fish is able to handle these large donations and help stock other agencies freezers. In addition to the poundage provided by Walmart, Dan also encouraged the pantry to apply for a Walmart grant and, again with the help of some nice people with the foundation, they were awarded $25,000 that allowed them to purchase a new truck and stand-up topper to more easily handle their donations from Walmart and other donors. Polson Loaves & Fish is still buying more food than ever and continues relying on their generous community for donations. However, their new building has allowed them to serve record numbers of people and created a welcoming atmosphere for both clients and donors. Food pantries must always look ahead, and the answer to reaching one s goals is in identifying the right key partners. Bryan explains that MFBN is the food key, Town Pump is the funding key, their board was the real estate key, USDA Rural Development was the equipment key, and Walmart the transportation key. The question is: what key resources are available to your community? If you have any questions for Polson Loaves & Fish they can be reached at If your agency has a story to tell or promising practices to share, contact Jeff or Diane and extension 232 or

3 Montana Food Bank Network Partner Agency News December DELIVERY SCHEDULE: * All delivery times will be published online and in the Affiliate concurrently. If, for any reason, your scheduled delivery time changes from what has been published, MFBN staff will notify you. Date Time City Partner Agency 7-Jan 10:00-10:45 Bozeman Gallatin Valley Food Bank, Headwaters Area Food Bank, West Yellowstone Food Bank, Gardiner Food Pantry, Big Sky Youth Home 7-Jan 12:45-1:30 Helena Helena Food Share, Margaret Stuart Boys and Girls Home, Elkhorn Treatment Facility, Transitional Living Facility, Helena Pre-Release, Lewis and Clark Group Home, Alternative Youth Adventures, Salvation Army 8-Jan 8:30-9:30 Great Falls Great Falls Community Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul, FISH, Salvation Army, Great Falls Schools, Chouteau County Food Bank 8-Jan 10:15-10:30 Fairfield Fairfield School Food Pantry 8-Jan 10:45-11:30 Choteau Teton County Food Pantry, Pondera Food Pantry 8-Jan 12:45-1:00 Browning Blackfeet Food Bank, Browning Schools 13-Jan 8:30-9:00 13-Jan 10:30-11:30 13-Jan 11:30-11:45 13-Jan 12:30-1:00 13-Jan 1:45-2:15 15-Jan 9:00-9:30 15-Jan 10:00-10:30 15-Jan 10:45-11:30 15-Jan 12:15-12:30 15-Jan 12:30-1:30 15-Jan 1:45-2:15 20-Jan 8:15-8:30 20-Jan 10:00-10:45 20-Jan 1:15-1:45 20-Jan 3:15-3:30 21-Jan 7:15-7:45 21-Jan 8:15-8:30 21-Jan 10:00-10:30 21-Jan 11:00-11:30 21-Jan 12:00-12:15 21-Jan 12:45-1:30 21-Jan 2:15-2:45 23-Jan 8:00-8:15 23-Jan 8:15-8:30 23-Jan 9:00-9:30 23-Jan 10:30-11:30 23-Jan 12:00-12:30 Dillon Beaverhead Community Food Pantry, Dillon School Butte Butte Emergency Food Bank, Butte Schools Butte Butte Rescue Mission Anaconda Project Care, Discovery House, Anaconda Schools Maxville Granite County Food Bank Thompson Falls Community Harvest Food Bank, Thompson Falls Seniors, Thompson Falls AOG Church, Sanders County Coalition for Families, Thompson Falls School Trout Creek Open Gate Ranch Youth Group, Trout Creek Seniors, Trout Creek School Noxon Community Services Fellowship, Noxon Seniors, Heron Seniors Troy Troy Community Baptist Church Food Pantry Troy Troy Food Pantry, the YAAK Food Cupboard Libby Libby Food Pantry, Libby Christian Church, Libby Seniors Livingston Livingston Food Pantry White Sulphur Springs Meagher County Nutrition Coalition, White Sulphur Springs School Lewistown Central Montana Community Cupboard, FCCOA, B/G of Lewistown Roundup Musselshell County Food Bank, Roundup School Hardin Helping Hands, Set Free Ministries, Hardin School Garryowen Center Pole Foundation Billings Family Service, INC., Alternatives/Passages, Montana Rescue Mission, Teen Pantry Program, Lockwood School Laurel Community Hope, Laurel School Joliet Joliet Food Pantry, Boys and Girls Club of Carbon County Columbus Project Hope, Columbus School Big Timber Big Timber Community Food Bank Alberton Alberton Seniors Alberton Alberton Community Food Pantry Superior Community Food Bank of Mineral County, Superior School Plains Plains Community Food Bank, Shekinah Kitchen, Plains-Paradise Seniors, Plains School Hot Springs Hot Springs Food Pantry, Hot Springs Seniors, Hot Springs School

4 4 THE AFFILIATE DELIVERY SCHEDULE continued 23-Jan 1:30-2:00 27-Jan 8:00-8:15 27-Jan 8:15-8:30 27-Jan 9:00-9:30 27-Jan 11:15-11:45 27-Jan 12:00-12:30 27-Jan 1:30-2:15 29-Jan 8:15-9:00 29-Jan 10:15-11:00 29-Jan 11:15-11:30 Dixon Dixon Seniors, Dixon School St. Ignatius St. Ignatius Seniors St. Ignatius Mission Valley Food Pantry Ronan Ronan Bread Basket, Mission Valley Seniors Columbia Falls Columbia Falls Food Bank, Columbia Falls Schools Whitefish North Valley Food Bank, Whitefish Schools Eureka Tobacco Valley Food Pantry, Eureka Four Square Church, Tobacco Valley Seniors Polson Polson Loaves and Fish Pantry, Polson Seniors, Polson School Kalispell Flathead Food Bank, Lighthouse Christian Home, Samaritan House, St. Matthews Church Kalispell North West Montana Veterans Stand Down Events and Reminders TANF MOUs Food pantries that would like to participate in the new TANF program must turn in their MOUs by December 21, Feb 9:00-9:30 Stevensville Pantry Partners 3-Feb 9:45-10:00 Victor Victor School 3-Feb 10:15-10:45 Hamilton Bitterroot Valley Calvary Chapel 3-Feb 11:00-12:00 Hamilton Haven House, WMMHC Eddy Meuchel Group Home, WMMHC ADT New Beginnings 3-Feb 12:00-12:15 Hamilton Daly Elementary School, Hamilton-Corvallis Schools 3-Feb 12:45-1:15 Darby Darby Bread Box 5-Feb 10:15-10:45 Lakeside West Shore Food Bank, Lakeside School 5-Feb 11:00-11:30 Bigfork Bigfork Food Pantry, Bigfork School 5-Feb 12:45-1:15 Seeley Lake Seeley-Swan Food Bank, Seeley Lake School 10-Feb 12:30-1:00 10-Feb 1:45-2:00 10-Feb 3:30-3:45 11-Feb 8:30-9:00 11-Feb 9:30-10:00 11-Feb 11:00-11:15 11-Feb 12:00-12:45 11-Feb 1:30-1:45 11-Feb 3:15-3:45 11-Feb 3:45-4:15 11-Feb 5:45-6:15 12-Feb 8:00-8:15 12-Feb 8:45-9:15 12-Feb 9:45-10:30 Ashland St. Labre Food Pantry Colstrip Colstrip Community Food Bank Miles City Custer County Food Bank Wibaux Wibaux Food Bank Glendive Dawson County Food Bank Sidney Fellowship Food Pantry Culbertson Culbertson Food Bank Poplar New Life Mission Glasgow Valley County Council on Aging Glasgow Valley County Emergency Food Bank Malta Malta Food Bank, Malta Opportunities, INC Harlem Harlem Food Pantry, Harlem Seniors Chinook Chinook Food Pantry Havre Havre Food Bank, Feed My Sheep, Boys and Girls of the Hi-Line Grocery Rescue Agreements Partner Agencies that participate in the Grocery Rescue Program, please turn in your 2015 Program Agreements by December 31, MFBN Office Closed: December 25 December 26 January 1 Have a safe and happy holiday season and new year! 17-Feb As Scheduled Missoula Missoula Agencies begin scheduled pick ups

5 Montana Food Bank Network Partner Agency News December Hunger s Hope Awards At the Feeding Hope Gala, on November 14, 2014, the Montana Food Bank Network presented the Hunger s Hope Awards. This award is presented to individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on ending hunger in Montana. Congratulations to these worthy recipients: First Lady Lisa Bullock First Lady of Montana, Lisa Bullock, is passionate about ending hunger in Montana. She has worked to recognize schools that have successfully started a new school breakfast site or have increased participation by utilizing an alternative model of serving breakfast. She has recently pulled together a group of 15 middle and high school students from around the state to serve on a Youth Leadership Council to look at ways to address hunger. Ann Sharkey Ann Sharkey has volunteered at the Montana Food Bank Network since Because of her efforts, Ann has single handedly saved the MFBN enough money to purchase over 21,500 meals. Ann s attention to detail and efficiency never cease to amaze our staff and we are motivated by her dedication to the mission of ending hunger in Montana. Virginia Ginny Mermel Ginny has the task of feeding low-income, food insecure students in Billings through school pantries and BackPack programs. Many of the students she serves are homeless and rely on the assistance provided through her programs to eat. She has expanded the reach and scope of child hunger programs in her community while working to ensure stable funding and administration for child hunger programs. Good Food Store Over the last decade, the Good Food Store played a vital role in numerous fundraising events for the Montana Food Bank Network. To date, they have donated enough money for the Montana Food Bank Network to be able to provide over 47,000 meals. MFBN Hungry in Montana 2014 Report Released MFBN s Hungry in Montana 2014 report was released last month, highlighting the experiences of food pantry clients across the state. The report is based on a survey of approximately 200 pantry clients from eight agencies across rural, urban, and reservation areas thank you to the agencies who participated in this year s survey! The report provides a better understanding of both the contributing factors and the consequences of hunger in Montana. Survey participants shared information on a variety of subjects including their employment situation, sources of income, participation in public food programs, access to health care, and frequency of food pantry visits. Clients also shared the ways in which food insecurity impacts their lives on a day to day basis. Many clients reported skipping meals, delaying medical care, or having to make difficult choices between paying for food and other necessities. The report highlights a number of quotes and stories from participating clients. Our findings demonstrate the importance of addressing the root causes of hunger, while also supporting and strengthening the programs that help families keep food on the table. All Montana State Legislators received a copy of the report summary. The issues highlighted in the report are likely the same that each of you are seeing among clients within your agency. We hope this report can give some ideas of ways to educate your legislators on the factors contributing to hunger. Attend MFBN s January webinar to learn more communicating with legislators (webinar registration info coming soon). All partner agencies should have received a report summary in the mail. The full report can be found online at www. mfbn.org/research or contact us to request a hard copy: lburhop@mfbn.org, x230

6 THE AFFILIATE 6 The Montana Food Bank Network 5625 Expressway Missoula, MT Phone: Fax: agencyinfo@mfbn.org MISSION: To end hunger in Montana through food acquisition, distribution, education, and advocacy. VISION: A Montana free from hunger where everyone has equal access to nutritious food. CORE VALUES: Justice Respect Integrity Trust Excellence Diversity www. Soy Glazed Salmon Steaks Using Featured Product Salmon Steaks insidemfbn.org For the latest information and updates on new products, special offers, delivery schedules, shopping lists, Pioneer Food Buying Service, grants, media featuring issues on food banking today and current outreach programs, log on to our website www. insidemfbn.org. You can even submit your Monthly Activity Report and Grocery Rescue numbers online! Ingredients - 1 Tbsp soy sauce - 1 Tbsp honey - 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger - salmon steaks Instructions: 1) Preheat oven to broil. 2) Mix soy sauce, honey, ginger. 3) Line a baking sheet with foil. Place salmon steaks on sheet and brush with sauce mixture. 4) Broil until fish is brown on top and opaque all the way through (approximately 5 or 6 minutes). My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? -Bob Hope MFBN Staff Chief Executive Officer Gayle Gifford x225 Chief Development Officer Bill Mathews x244 Marketing Coordinator Kristen Lothrop x235 Database Coordinator Chris McCleerey x226 Volunteer/Events Coordinator Katie Lane x252 Chief Finance Officer Clark Tower x223 Accountant Morgan Brennan x224 Chief Policy Officer Kate Devino x231 Public Policy Manager Lorianne Burhop x230 Public Policy Coordinator Erin Carlstrom x227 Chief Operations Officer Brent Weisgram x233 Transportation Manager Rob Shipley x240 Operations Manager Brad Argo x251 Agency Relations Manager Jeff Gutierrez x232 School Programs Coordinator Stephanie Stratton x229 Agency Resource Coordinator Diane Matthews x222 Warehouse/CDL Driver Steve Anderson x234 Warehouse/CDL Driver Greg Patton x234