Gallatin County, Montana – On Thursday, a sizable contribution of pork ribs was made to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank in appreciation from organizations that struggled during the COVID Pandemic.
The Montana Farmers Union stated that the donation will have a significant impact because food banks frequently struggle to obtain protein.
Working directly with families is Nicole Stock, a service navigator at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. One in particular, she claimed, has three children.
“I’ll hold her baby while she’s shopping and every other week, she will bring in a baked good for myself and the staff from the food that she gets here at the food bank because she’s just so grateful,” she shared.
Every day, according to Stock, she encounters about 70 families who all rely on donations from kind individuals and groups like the Montana Farmers Union.
“Montana Farmers Union, with our partners at Farmers Union Enterprise, have donated our third semi-load of pork to the food bank network,” said President of Montana Farmers Union Walter Schweitzer.
With more than 1600 pounds coming to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, the donation included about 37,000 pounds of pork ribs for food banks in the area.
“They’ll also go to the Headwaters Area Food Bank in Three Forks, and the Big Sky Community Food Bank in Big Sky, all HRDC programs, and also to our ‘pay what you can’ restaurant, The Fork and Spoon,” said Jill Holder, HRDC’s food & nutrition department director for the food bank.
Protein is crucial for human survival, according to Schweitzer, “yet there’s a shortage of it. To feed the needy, the food banks are having difficulty locating high-quality protein.
The Montana Farmers Union was unable to supply them with meat when the hotels and restaurants shut down at the start of the epidemic in 2020.
“So, it was an opportunity for us to do something for our communities and the food banks were so appreciative. The states were very appreciative and we saw the need, and so, we’re gonna continue to do this as long as we can,” Schweitzer said.
Click here to find out more about the food bank’s offerings or to make a donation.
