Volunteers sort food at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank every day before the pantry opens, ensuring the freshest food possible is available to those seeking food assistance.
Ways to Donate the Harvest to HRDC
Fall is recognized by many as the harvest season and conjoins with winter to be the season for giving. The weather changes; many Montanans harvest produce, livestock, and wild game; and we gather with friends and family throughout the holiday season.
Hunters and harvesters may fill the freezer to sustain their families, but oftentimes they look for ways to support their communities as well. Giving excess game and produce to food banks is a great way to provide healthy, nutritious food to those in need. In the Bozeman area, the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) supports nine communities in southwest Montana and offers nearly 50 different initiatives including the operation of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.
HRDC recently moved into a new space designed to be a “Community Commons” that will better meet the needs of its customers. This includes a new space for the food bank, which will significantly expand HRDC’s freezer space and capacity to store and distribute wild game and produce. Additionally, there is a learning kitchen and organizers hope to offer educational programming on nutrition and cooking with wild game.
“Proteins are really important and harder to come by than some other items,” says HRDC Food and Nutrition Director Jill Holder. “Access to local game meat is difficult, and it provides the best combination of local, organic protein for our clients.”
The HRDC food banks, which include Gallatin Valley Food Bank, Headwaters Area Food Bank, and Big Sky Community Food Bank, need donations all year round. If you have had a bountiful harvest and want to share, Holder offers the following guidelines for donations:
- Meat needs to be commercially processed in an FDA-approved facility. Amsterdam Meat Shop, Yellowstone Wild Game Processing, and Pioneer Meats are just a few of the approved facilities located in Gallatin, Park, and Sweetgrass counties.
- HRDC cannot accept bear meat.
- Local produce is always needed. So, whether growing a row for HRDC or gleaning apples, every bit helps. And remember, you can also donate your CSA share when you are out of town.
HRDC is working to help everyone in southwest Montana eat nutritious food and ensure no one in our community goes to bed hungry.
