The House Agriculture Community listened to overwhelming support from 25 individuals on a bill that would encourage the availability of fresh produce for Montana families through the Montana Food Bank.
Rep. Marty Malone, R-Pray, introduced House Bill 276, which would create a grant program for Montana food banks and pantries so they can adequately pay local farmers for fresh produce.
“Farmers and ranchers are subject to market strains around the world, and sometimes we don’t get paid for what we do,” Malone said.
The bill takes $1 million from the agriculture section of the state budget to create grants that would be allocated by the Department of Agriculture to food hubs across Montana to build collaboration with smaller food pantries across the state.
The grants require that local organizations and food banks show that they’re including rural communities and creating markets for producers.
Supporters of the bill said that it would give more Montanans access to healthy food options. They said food waste in Montana is a problem, and that by the time food banks receive food from producers or grocery stores, the shelf life is way too limited.
“The food available through Montana’s food pantries must be nutritious and high quality in order to support the health and well-being of our Montana neighbors, and we know that the highest quality food comes from the producers right here in our state,” Lorianne Burhop, chief policy officer at the Montana Food Bank Network, said.
Supporters said farmers want to help their communities, but they have margins to meet in a tough industry and the bill would mean that food banks can pay local farmers a fair price. They also said it would reduce the amount of produce food pantries buy from large scale grocery stores, putting more support into local producers.
There were no opponents at the bill’s hearing.
Caven Wade is a student reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. He can be reached at caven.wade@umontana.edu.
