If you’ve ever been to the Kalispell Farmers Market on a Saturday morning in the summer, you know how great our locally grown food is in the Flathead Valley. Montanans grow and produce fruits, vegetables, berries, meat, lentils, beans, and more. For over 10 years, Land to Hand Montana (L2H) has supported SNAP and Double SNAP Dollars (DSD) programs at the Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls markets.
SNAP (used to be called food stamps) is the largest children’s nutrition program in the country and helps our local economy. Each summer, more than $25,000 is typically added to the Flathead Valley economy through SNAP and DSD, with each of those dollars generating an additional $1.50 in economic activity. Since 2015, $1.3 million has been spent on local foods through Montana SNAP and DSD programs, representing an economic impact of almost $2 million.
L2H is part of a DSD group across Montana, which is organized by Farm Connect (farmconnectmontana.org). We get federal funding from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentives Program. This group had $100,000 left to give as DSD money (to buy local food) until August. But a few days ago, all that money was suddenly taken away.
This sudden cut in money will really hurt people who use SNAP, including many kids and older adults. It will also hurt the farmers in the Flathead Valley who work hard to grow food for us. In 2024, 54 different sellers at the Kalispell Farmers Market made a total of $17,800 through these programs.
We are asking Representative Ryan Zinke and Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy to support Montana farmers and families and get this $100,000 in nutrition incentives returned. Get involved at landtohandmt.org.
Land to Hand Staff and Board of Directors