Jill Holder, HRDC Food and Nutrition Department Director, who oversees programming for three area foodbanks, said outreach cutbacks were necessary due to staffing limitations during Covid. For the past 18 months, limited outreach was available in Belgrade and evening shopping hours did not exist in Bozeman.

While various other measures were taken, they are happy to get back into Belgrade on a regular basis.

“We strive to ensure our outreach is meeting current needs,” Holder said. “Unfortunately, we had to eliminate our evening shopping hours at the Bozeman food bank location due to Covid. Now, with a number of extra health precautions in place and more available staff on hand, we are pleased to announce we have been able to resume Gallatin Valley Food Bank evening shopping hours each week on Tuesdays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Expanding our hours of operation later in the day really helps our customers who are unable to visit any other time.”

In addition, Belgrade residents are not always able to make a trip to Bozeman to visit the food bank, so Holder has added two grocery pick-up locations on the first and third Mondays of each month at the Peace Lutheran Church located at 203 Jackrabbit Lane. Available grocery items include fruits, vegetables, bread, and dairy, along with pre-packed grocery boxes that include a variety of non-perishables, dairy, and meat.

Pairing up on the food distribution initiative in Belgrade is HRDC’s Mighty Spork Food Truck, an outreach initiative of the Fork & Spoon restaurant, Montana’s first and only pay-what-you-can restaurant. The Mighty Spork offers hot, homegrown, scratch-cooked meals at a price everyone can afford.

“Throughout the summer months our new food truck had a presence in Belgrade during evening hours at a couple of different locations and we received a warm reception from the community,” said Rick Hilles, Program Manager for the Fork & Spoon restaurant. “The opportunity to layer in our services with the Gallatin Valley Food Bank’s pick-up program twice a month is a no-brainer. Folks will be able to get a hot meal to go when they stop by to pick up their groceries. We will serve an assortment of hot sandwiches and grain bowls, including kid-friendly options, and as always, we welcome the chance to make life a little easier for our customers.”