Montana’s food producers gathered in Helena last weekend for the Governor’s Summit on Montana Food and Agriculture with one goal in mind: Getting more Montana food on more Montana plates.
Seventy years ago, 70 percent of food consumed in Montana was grown in-state. Today, that number is down to only 3 percent. That’s not for a lack of local products, but for a lack of infrastructure connecting producers to consumers.
“Montana really does have the pieces. It doesn’t have everything, but it has pretty much everything. Our job really is to help connect them.”
That’s Robin Kelson of Abundant Montana, the organization behind 33x33, an initiative aimed at bolstering Montana products to take up 33% of the state’s food market by 2033. The nonprofit’s website says locally-sourced food is less vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions and gives consumers more choice in nourishing foods.
Kari Groeneweg was one of those producers at the summit. Groeneweg and her husband own Living Sky Grains, a farm in Three Forks where they work with their four kids. They grow a variety of grain products and partner with local restaurants and businesses. She said it’s important to her that her family’s products land on Montanans’ tables.
“We believe that you are supporting a family farm, and that is huge. That is the local economy, and the health of our local economies means that we need to provide nutrient-dense, quality food, and that’s what we are doing.”
The summit included sessions for producers on building local supply chains, financing their production and reaching rural food markets.
