Value-Added
Products
Signature shelf-stable products made at the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center using Montana-grown ingredients, built for school cafeterias, institutional kitchens, and Montana’s rural food economy.
Real Food.
Made for Real Kitchens.
At MMFEC, we develop and produce a growing line of Mission West-branded value-added foods that combine Montana-grown ingredients, scratch-made recipes, and the operational simplicity institutional kitchens need.
Each product is built around the same goal: bringing more Montana-grown food onto more Montana plates, while putting more dollars back into the hands of Montana farmers.
For every dollar of profit, an outsized share returns directly to local growers and processors. That’s farm-to-table built into the supply chain.
The Mission West
Product Line
Two signature products built for school cafeterias and institutional kitchens. More in development.
Montana Marinara
A scratch-made marinara sauce blending USDA commodity tomatoes with butternut squash, carrots, and onions sourced from the producer-owned Western Montana Growers Cooperative.
Shelf-stable, bottled at MMFEC, and now distributed statewide through the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Every ½ cup serving delivers ½ cup of red/orange vegetables, picky-eater approved.
2026 production: 1,700+ cases for 143 Montana school districts.
Montana Lentil Burgers
A plant-based protein patty made with locally sourced Montana lentils, designed to meet school nutrition standards while introducing students to homegrown ingredients.
Also available in two sister formats for institutional kitchens: Lentil and Mushroom Meatballs and Beef and Lentil Crumble, both perfect for tacos, pasta sauces, and casseroles.
Built for: School lunch programs, institutional foodservice, farm-to-school menus.
More on the way: Additional value-added products are in development. If you’re a school nutrition director, distributor, or institutional buyer interested in upcoming products, get in touch.
Download: 2026 MMFEC Product Spec Sheets (PDF), complete product list with serving sizes, ingredients, and ordering info.
Where to
Find Them
Mission West value-added products are distributed statewide through trusted Montana partners.
Montana K–12 Schools
Distributed to 143+ school districts through the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI). School nutrition directors order each spring; orders are fulfilled and shipped through OPI’s existing distribution platform.
Institutional Foodservice
Hospitals, senior dining, and other institutional kitchens across western Montana can order through MMFEC’s standard wholesale channel.
Direct Inquiry
Interested in carrying Mission West products in your school, kitchen, or store? Contact our food center team to discuss volume, packaging, and delivery.
From Montana Fields
to the School Tray
Our value-added line exists because the right partners came together at the right time. Each product is the result of a deliberately designed supply chain that keeps dollars and decisions inside Montana.
Growers: The Western Montana Growers Cooperative, producer-owned, with a network of 30+ small family farms, supplies the fresh produce that goes into our Marinara.
Funders: A Regional Food Systems Infrastructure grant from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service enabled the move from frozen to shelf-stable packaging in 2025–2026. The Montana Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce co-fund current production.
Distribution: The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) handles orders and distribution to 143+ school districts statewide.
Processing: All products are produced, bottled, and packaged at the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center, a 13,000 sq ft FDA-registered, USDA-inspected, certified-organic facility right here in Ronan.
The Montana
Marinara Toolkit
Montana Marinara is the first farm to school product in the nation to combine local ingredients, shared-use processing, and federal purchasing dollars in one repeatable model. Fill out the form below to download the free toolkit and see how the whole value chain works, from local sourcing to the cafeteria tray.
Interested in
Our Products?
Talk to the MMFEC team about volume orders, distribution, upcoming products, or partnership opportunities.
Place an Order or Ask a Question
School nutrition directors, institutional buyers, distributors, and grocers: tell us what you need and we’ll get back within one business day.
The Partners Behind
the Products
Montana Marinara and the rest of the value-added line are only possible through statewide partnerships that connect growers, schools, and buyers.
Other Programs
Real Food.
Made in Montana.
Mission West value-added products are the result of years of partnership between farmers, processors, schools, and state agencies, all working to put more Montana on the table.