Volunteers of Gallatin Valley Farm to School will be leading the children in farm to school activities such as making butter, planting a bucket garden, and exploring the BOB, the Bozone Ozone Bus – a mobile greenhouse bus created by the Bozeman Youth Initiative.  

 The activities will be held at the SOB Barn on the Montana State University campus July 6^th to July 12^th and at Centennial Park July 13^th through July 19^th.    For more information visit the GVF2S website at www.gvfarmtoschool.org.  

The Summer Lunch Program provides free lunches to school-aged children weekdays from noon to 1pm throughout the summer.  No pre-registration is necessary and all children under the age of 18 are welcome.

This group of activities is the first of several different themes we’ll be exploring throughout the summer.  Join us for lunch and activities all summer long!

This year there will be two new exciting additions to the program!  Last year a Campus Compact Volunteer designed a Summer Lunch Activities Manual that  focused on nutrition education, fun with food, conservation, and many more fun-filled, hands-on learning activities.  We will have these hands-on activities and other events at both summer lunch locations.  Join us for a good meal and then fun-filled activities and special events all summer long!

We’ll also be using fresh garden produce from our own garden and other local growers in our meals served in a kid-friendly fashion.  Food items like kale chips and zuccinni sticks made their way into the weekly menu last summer and the kids loved it!

National Volunteer Week embodies the energy and power volunteers evoke on a daily basis as they lead by example—not only encouraging the people they help, but motivating others to serve as well. 

We all have strenghts and skills to share and volunteers form the backbone of our organization.  Together we accomplish great things!  We can not imagine US without YOU.

Make a Donation Now. Together, even the smallest contributions can make a big difference.

Turkey for a Ticket – December 18, 2009

Blue skies, great snow conditions, and moderate temperatures greeted a record turn‐out to earn free skiing at Moonlight Basin. With a donation of a turkey or 20 cans of food, individuals skied free for the day and season pass holders received a voucher good for one lift ticket during the 2009‐10 ski season. In addition, a new corporate category was added. With a minimum donation of 80 pounds, businesses would receive a lift ticket voucher for every 20 pounds donated.

“A huge “Thank You” goes out to the community. Last year Moonlight donated 7,000 pounds of food to Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Based on the growing needs of our community, they threw out the challenge of gathering 12,000 pounds. They blasted past that goal with over 17,000 pounds of food, including 554 turkeys, delivered to the Food Bank’s warehouse.  28 companies participated in the corporate food drive gathering over 4,974 pounds of food. What a great turn‐out!

“I have never seen a happier group of skiers and riders in my 20 year career in the ski industry. They were so proud to be donating to such a great cause and the vibe around the resort was incredible, said Greg Pack, Moonlight Basin Resort General Manager. “Our company is thankful to be able to host this fantastic event and we express our gratitude to the community whose generosity will help families in need during this holiday season.”

The Huffing For Stuffing Thanksgiving Day Run Event Committee is proud to report a record turnout for the 3rd annual Huffing For Stuffing Thanksgiving Day Run on Thanksgiving Day, 2009, at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT. Cheerful attitudes of celebration prevailed during what was a beautiful sunny, mild, windless morning with temperatures in the mid-30’s degrees. Paid registration for the 5K and 10K events was 2,184 participants and more than 200 children brought food donations in order to compete in The Ridge Kids’ Run. 900 pounds of food donations was collected. Estimated proceeds from Huffing For Stuffing ‘09 to be donated to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank are at least $17,500 and our event’s three year cumulative total is $47,000 donated to the Food Bank.

New features of our 3rd annual event were well received by the community, including computer chip timing, women’s fitted race shirts, an excess of 100 pottery awards for the fastest runners and the live blue-grass musical performance by the Bridger Creek Boys.

The Huffing For Stuffing Event Committee remains dedicated to our mission: to provide a fun, heart-healthy, family-oriented event that brings the community together to support our less fortunate neighbors who rely on the Gallatin Valley Food Bank during a time of great need. We are grateful to our sponsors, volunteers, participants, City of Bozeman officials, the greater Gallatin Valley community and visitors from 30 states, Canada and England for supporting our holiday celebration during challenging economic times that have adversely impacted many people and organizations among our community. We will work hard to carry the positive momentum of Huffing For Stuffing into 2010 and beyond. Thank you!

-Huffing For Stuffing Thanksgiving Day Run Event Committee

www.huffingforstuffing.com