Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is run by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Since 1993, the nation’s letter carriers have collected food donations from generous Americans, like those in Southwest Montana, every second Saturday of May and delivered them to food banks and pantries in their local communities. Now in its 20th year, the drive has surpassed one billion pounds of food collected for the needy, and more than 70 million pounds of food collected for eight consecutive years.

 Last year, nearly 21,000 pounds of food was collected in the Gallatin Valley.

2011 Letter Carriers Food Drive

How can people participate in the food drive?

On Saturday, May 12th, simply leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, like canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal, next to your mailbox before the time of regular mail delivery. Your letter carriers will then collect the donations and deliver them to food banks and pantries in the local community. Make sure that food items are in non-breakable containers, such as boxes and cans

Please Join Us For Dinner. It’s on us!

We’re Now Open
302 NORTH 7TH AVENUE
BOZEMAN, MONTANA

FROM 5-7pm
7 DAYS PER WEEK

Our Partners
Bozeman United Methodist Church
Christ the King Lutheran Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Congregation Beth Shalom
First Lutheran Church
First Presbyterian Church
Holy Rosary Catholic Church
Hope Lutheran Church
Journey Church
MSU Office for Community Involvement
Peace Lutheran Church
Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Open for you, your family, your friends, the community. Serving everyone who eats!

Capacity Building Award

The Yellowstone Club Community Foundation (YCCF) was honored for their capacity building efforts. Specifically YCCF was recognized for their support and generosity allowing the Food Bank to successfully expand the KidsPack Program. The KidsPack Program provides weekend nourishment for children whom may otherwise not receive a balanced meal again until they return back to school on Monday morning. Participating children are discreetly given a bag of healthy food every Friday during the school year to take home with them for the weekend.

The Yellowstone Club Community Foundation has been a valuable contributor to the KidsPack program for the last two years by working with their members and partners to financially support and increase the number of children being served by this important program. Because of the support of the staff and board of the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation the number of children the KidsPack Program now reaches has increased by 50%. The KidsPack Program effectively reaches roughly 600 kids at 12 Gallatin Valley schools who are in need of weekend nourishment thanks in part to the support of YCCF. Jeff Rupp, chief executive officer of the Human Resource Development Council presented the award to Casey Schwartz, executive director of Yellowstone Club Community Foundation.

 Advocacy Award

Montana State University Office of Community Involvement was recognized for their advocacy efforts “mobilizing resources and raising public awareness in order to meet the immediate needs of the food bank”. Mentioned specifically was the annual Can the Griz Food Drive which generated more than 56,000 pounds of food, the Campus Corps Program through which MSU students help coordinate the Kids’ Summer Lunch Program, and the countless MSU volunteers who have contributed their time to the food bank. Tim Trizinski, program director of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank presented the award to Kathy Tanner, director of the Office of Community Involvement.

Direct Service Award

Craig Cummings was posthumously honored for his direct service and meaningful impact on the health and well-being of the children at Heck/Quaw Elementary. As former principal at Heck/Quaw elementary school Craig Cummings was instrumental to the successful launch of the KidsPack Program at his school where he carefully identified children he knew needed food for the weekend. Because of his dedication and understanding of what children at Heck/Quaw needed emotionally and nutritionally he ensured that more than 120 children received KidsPack foods every Friday afternoon. He, with the help of the Elsa Kilwein Heck/Quaw elementary school counselor, personally distributed a bag of food to every participating child on Friday afternoons. Lori Christenson, program manager of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank who worked closely with Craig Cummings presented the award to Craig’s wife Teri Cummings.

MSU and Gallatin Valley Food Bank Partner on AARP Foundation Grant for Food Security for Seniors

AARP Foundation recently awarded $3.7 million in grants to ten non-profit organizations across the United States, and a partnership between the Human Resource Development Council’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank (GVFB) and Montana State University received one of the Hunger Innovation Grants totaling $199,239. Assistant professor of food and nutrition, Carmen Byker, and Lori Christenson, program manager of the GVFB, partnered to write the two-year grant, which examines how to improve food security and the wellbeing of rural seniors in southwest Montana.

The project called Cultivating, Accessible, Affordable, Adequate, and Appropriate Nutrition for Seniors Project, or CAAAANS for short, is a collaborative community-academic effort that brings together several existing Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) programs and MSU staff and students to provide needed services to rural seniors.  The HRDC’s Senior Empowerment Initiative combines the nutrition services of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, the in-home health checks of the Homemaker Program, and the volunteer energy of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) with the door-to-door transportation services of Galavan.  The integral partnership with MSU will bring a student-run mobile farm stand, intergenerational interactions, and culinary collaborations to outlying communities.

“The mobile farm stand will bring fresh produce from MSU’s Towne’s Harvest Garden to seniors age 50 and older in these communities,” said Byker, “and the GVFB will supplement food outside the growing season while HRDC’s Homemaker Program will work with students to strategize ways for seniors to utilize mobile market foods in-home.”

Two other faculty members from MSU’s Department of Health and Human Development are working on the project as well.  Alison Harmon, associate professor of food and nutrition, will work with MSU students to study learning outcomes from developing a mobile farm stand and examine intergenerational interactions. Dawn Tarabochia, assistant professor in community health, will examine the social and psychological wellness of seniors and explore how social networks help seniors procure food in rural areas. The trio of professors will host focus groups and conduct surveys to collect data.  

“We’re also organizing a planning council that will involve local organizations, businesses. and community members  with a vested interest in the health and well-being of our community’s seniors and local food security to help steer the project,” said Christenson. “The planning council will help determine when, where, and what kind of foods to supply to the farm stand and explore ways to sustain the project beyond the life of the grant.”

MSU students will be actively involved, says Byker. Four MSU students will be hired for marketing, coordinating, and researchingthe mobile farm stand. Undergraduate students are using the program as community service learning projects, such as a community needs assessment and recipe development.  MSU Dietetic Interns will help assess nutritional risk for seniors involved with Human Resource Development Council’s (HRDC) Homemaker Services.

Byker said, “AARP Foundation awards the Hunger Innovation projects to a select few non-profit organizations, and they really liked the integration of the Food Bank and other HRDC programs with Montana State University.”

AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is the charitable affiliate of AARP. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org.

Check back again soon for project updates!

The pentannual Community Survey is conducted simultaneously in communities across Park, Gallatin and Meagher counties.  The data is then assembled and analyzed with other community assessments related to housing, health, education, etc. and used to determine HRDC’s role in future community priorities.

Thank you, for helping to conduct this important survey.  Your participation makes all of this possible.  Please share this link with your colleague, family and friends living in Gallatin, Meagher or Park Counties.

Estimated time of completion is five minutes and you have a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

Take the survey by clicking here.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please call Kristin at (406) 587-4486 or respond to Mary at mmartin@hrdc9.org.

Paper copies are also available at The Gallatin VAlley Food Bank,  HRDC’s front reception desk (32 South Tracy),  and via our mobile outreach unit.

Thank you again for your enthusiasm, your participation and your efforts.

To learn more about the HRDC please visit www.thehrdc.org

Foods collected in Belgrade, Big Sky, Bozeman, and Gallatin Gateway went to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank; Foods collected in Manhattan, Pony, Willow Creek, Three Forks and Harrison went  to the Headwaters Area Food Bank.

Thanks to your generous contributions more than 21,000 pounds of food were donated collectively to the Gallatin Valley and Head Waters Area Food Banks!

Peanut Butter

Boxed Cereal

Dried Beans

Spaghetti Sauce

THANK YOU

]]> http://www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org/2011/02/wish-list-4/feed/ 0 http://www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org/2010/11/hunger-101-curriculum-introduced/ http://www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org/2010/11/hunger-101-curriculum-introduced/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:53:36 +0000 admin http://www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org/?p=1274 What is hunger?  Who is hungry in our community?  What can we do?

Hunger 101  is one of the ways the Gallatin Valley Food Bank can help you, your organization, or school become educated about hunger and poverty in our community and explore potential solutions.  

Hunger 101 is an educational project that includes an introduction to hunger and poverty in Montana, the US, and the World and includes activities, and a workshop that we can  lead for you! 

For more information and to download the curriculum click here.

August 2010 Minutes

August 2010 Board Summary

August YTD Service Level Comparision

August 2010 Fiscal Report

May 2010 Minutes

Board Summary May 2010

2010 GVFB Service Level Comparision

May 2010 Fiscal Report

GVFB Amended Budget FY11

Justin Varley Letter