[Vision2020] FW: Local foods in Montana

[Stephen Cooke]

From: Lorie Higgins [mailto:higgins at uidaho.edu] 
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 11:12 AM
To: medowlrk at sitestar.net; Larry Van Tassell; Wilson Gray (E-mail);
Christopher McIntosh; Steve Hollenhorst; Stephen Cooke; Larry Makus;
Cinda Williams; Aaron Johnson; J. Wulfhorst; Priscilla Salant; Joe
Guenthner; Charlotte Eberlein; 'Valdasue'; Kathleen Tifft; Sarah Howe;
'Ben Eborn'; Stephen Drown; Paul Patterson
Subject: Local foods in Montana

 

Timely, given our discussions the past two days.  Montana is kicking our
hiney on this one....

Grow Montana Receives National Award
(http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/grow_montana_receives_national_awa
rd/C520/L40/) 
Over the last two years, it has become difficult to talk about the
creation of local food systems in Montana without discovering a project
or policy supported by Grow Montana. In a short time, the broad-based
coalition that promotes Montana-owned food production, processing and
distribution as a sustainable economic development strategy has
catalyzed and coordinated efforts to support a vibrant Montana food
system.  New West; Oct. 2

Spade & Spoon: Localizing the Way Westerners Eat
Grow Montana Snags National Award

By Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel, 10-02-07
      
      
Over the last two years, it has become difficult to talk about the
creation of local food systems in Montana without discovering a project
or policy supported by Grow Montana. In a short time, the broad-based
coalition that promotes Montana-owned food production, processing and
distribution as a sustainable economic development strategy has
catalyzed and coordinated efforts to support a vibrant Montana food
system. 

Led by the National Center for Appropriate Technology's (NCAT), Nancy
Matheson and coordinated by Crissie McMullan, Grow Montana's work is
directed by a steering committee, which includes members from across the
state. Through university research and reports about the distance food
travels, the coalition has revealed the conventional food system's
inefficiencies and the potential economic benefits of a state-based
system.

To strengthen local food systems, Grow Montana also created FoodCorps
with four AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers who work to create Farm to School
institutional buying programs at schools and institutions around the
state. This year, the coalition also worked with the Montana legislature
to pass a procurement bill that allows state institutions to more easily
purchase Montana made food, opening a $33 million market to local
farmers and ranchers.

Because of this work, the Coalition was recently awarded the national
2007 Good Neighbor Harvest Award by the Glynwood Center, a nonprofit
organization supporting community stewardship through educational and
community-based agricultural initiatives. The annual award is given to
an individual or organization that supports regional agriculture in
innovative ways. And although the Center received over sixty nominations
from twenty states for the fifth annual awards, the Center found that,
"Although a young project, Grow Montana has accomplished a tremendous
amount through its joint efforts and tremendous drive.  The project
demonstrates the potency of using economic development as a cornerstone
argument for building regional food systems.  The project also is a
model for the importance and power of collaboration."

Such success has come quickly, but not always with ease. According to
Crissie McMullan, Project Coordinator for Grow Montana, the coalition's
bill to allow institutions to purchase more Montana-grown food actually
died during the 2005 legislative session.

With this lesson, the coalition prepared for the 2007 session (the
legislature meets every two years in Montana) by holding fifteen
community meetings across the state to better understand the food
policies people wanted to change. The Coalition also focused on building
relationships between nonprofits, individuals and institutional food
purchasers. According to McMullan, Grow Montana solidified relationships
that already existed in the state that many refer to as a small town
with long streets. But Grow Montana solidified those relationships
around localizing our food system. With urban and rural, broad-based and
state-wide support, the coalition passed the procurement bill with
unanimous support from Democrats and Republicans.

For Grow Montana, strengthening Montana's food system is a continuing
challenge. Even with the new procurement law, many large purchasers
still face challenges when buying local food because Montana lacks the
infrastructure for a local food system. Large purchasers such as
universities have trouble finding the quantity of food they need and
experience issues with processing and distribution of Montana-made food.
But for Grow Montana, even these issues provide possible opportunities
for economic development in the state as new processing facilities and
distribution networks are formed.

With these and other issues in mind, Grow Montana has already begun
preparing for the 2009 legislative session. But for now, McMullan will
travel to New York City to receive the prestigious Good Neighbor Harvest
award for all of her and Grow Montana's work.


Check back each week for Kisha's Spade & Spoon column at
www.newwest.net/spadeandspoon.


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