MISSION WEST RECEIVES 2022 USDA FARM TO SCHOOL GRANT
Ronan, MT, August 2, 2022 – The USDA has recently announced awards for the Farm to School grant program, including a $99,956 award to Mission West Community Development Partners. The two-year grant will support Mission West’s Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center and their ongoing partnership with Montana Office of Public Instruction (MT OPI) and Northwest Food Hub Network (NWFHN) to develop and distribute local, value-added products to schools statewide.
For the last year, MMFEC, MT OPI, and NWFHN have worked together to bring a new value-added product, Montana Marinara, to schools across the state. Montana Marinara combines USDA Foods canned tomatoes with locally grown carrots, squash, onions, and safflower oil to create a tasty and versatile product for school meals. MMFEC’s Farm to School grant project, Developing and Distributing Montana Sourced Value-Added Products for Montana Schools through Collaborative Partnerships, will continue this work by supporting MT Marinara and the creation of additional school-friendly products that use fresh, local, and healthy Montana ingredients. MT OPI will source products from USDA Foods, and MMFEC will combine these with Montana-grown ingredients to create nutritious and cost-effective value-added products.
“We are very excited to continue this partnership through the support of the USDA Farm to School grant program,” said Anne Harney, Mission West’s Local Food Promotion Manager. “We hope this project will be a win for everyone by improving access to local foods for schools statewide, increasing market opportunities for local farmers, and creating a sustainable cross-sector partnership with MT OPI that will benefit Montana schools and students.”
In addition to value-added product development, the project will support the development and implementation of a promotional campaign for the new local food products, create an Advisory Council of school food service directors from across the state, and develop educational materials for schools to use when serving these new products.
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If you would like more information on this topic, please contact Anne Harney at [email protected].
