Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 11.27.13

FLATHEADBEACON.COM OPINION NOVEMBER 27, 2013 | 25

UNCOMMON GROUND Mike Jopek

Grateful Harvest

T
HANKSGIVING IS A services for Kalispell schools. This year FURNISHINGS AND DESIGN
nearly 400-year-old harvest tra- Montague included new menu items like
for the way you live now...
dition. It’s a time to be grateful turkey wraps, hummus and bean tacos.
• FRASIER FIR
and share the bounty of the season. It’s Montague is making sure that more • RADKO Ornaments
a time for the blessings of family, friends of the menu is cooked from scratch with
and food.
a bigger amount of food sourced from lo- • MARK ROBERT Collectibles
Last week one of the biggest national cal Montana farmers and ranchers. Re- • VIETRI
turkey producers announced that there cently the Whiteish Park Side Credit
would be a shortage of average-sized and Union donated $6,000 to the Flathead Visit during our
EXTENDED HOLIDAY HOURS
larger fresh birds. Families likely found Farm to School Program. Montague
plenty of smaller or frozen turkeys to said, “That is enough to build six new PARTICIPANT
prepare for dinner tables.
gardens.”
123 Main St., Kalispell MT | 756-8555 | WWW.KALISPELLFURNITURE.COM
A couple years ago nearly 250 million Montague acknowledges that her
turkeys were raised in the
work is successful be-
U.S. Six states produced cause of community Treat Yourself to Something
two-thirds of all turkeys. “FROM A FARM- support and volunteers
Minnesota alone raised like Manly who serve up COOL
ER’S PERSPEC-
more than 46 million tur- nutritious snacks like
keys.
TIVE, THE PAST kale smoothies and len- this Holiday Season.
Neighboring Wiscon- til hummus to middle
sin grew more than half GROWING SEA- school students.
of the cranberries and Katie Wheeler was
more than a third of the SONS HAVE NOT the previous FoodCorps Give the best gift under the tree
snap beans for the nation. service person. Wheeler With our 10% off $100 Gift Cards
ALWAYS BEEN AS during the month of December.
Illinois produced nearly and Montague worked
half of the pumpkins con- GOOD AS 2013. with Kalispell’s Lower
sumed in the U.S. Sweet Valley Meat Process- Call for a Free Consultation
potatoes primarily come ing to secure the needed 406.756.7558
from North Carolina.
GIVE THANKS TO hamburger patty maker.
Now thousands of dol- When it comes to
Transform your body.
WHAT WE HAVE.”
lars help area ranchers wheat, the staf of life
as more of the district’s comes from Montana.
With no surgery or downtime.

2,000 weekly hamburg-
Over a third of the na-
tion’s staple ingredient for bread, buns ers are processed in Kalispell.
and pie is grown on farmlands in Kan- Public school kitchens in Kalispell
sas, Montana and North Dakota.
and Whiteish are also expanding with
Montana farmers produce about 200 voters supporting new equipment and
million bushels of wheat. Some econo- new facilities.
mists predict a slowdown for Montana The U.S. Department of Agricul-
growers and ranchers. Montana’s wheat
ture recently released the irst Farm to
growers enjoy good prices. And that’s School Census and cited over $350 mil-
likely to continue. Montana produces a lion of the nation’s $10 billion school
lot of the world’s best wheat.
lunch program was sourced locally.
Kalispell students are likely grateful Nearly 40,000 schools across the nation
for the national service program called participated.
FoodCorps.
Farmers and ranchers produce a lot
Chrissie McMullan founded the of food in Montana. Most of it is export-

Montana FoodCorps. She previous- ed, but plenty is again available locally
ly founded the University of Montana here in the valley.
Farm to College program, which is a Congress appears intent to cut fed-
growing success for Missoula area ag- eral anti-hunger programs for the sec-
riculture. FoodCorps grew in Montana ond time this year. The Flathead’s food
and merged with the national service banks will be busy during the upcom-
program. It’s now in 15 states and 300 ing holiday season. The Flathead Food
schools.
Bank, Columbia Falls Food Bank and

Local FoodCorps’ service volunteer North Valley Food Bank ecollect holiday
Jessica Manly is serving in the Kalispell food to be given as meals to local poor
Public Schools and the Flathead Farm people year-round.
to School program. Manly is one of hun- The hunger for food is always great
dreds of service volunteers expanding during the holidays. From a farmer’s
student’s food nutrition education.
perspective, the past growing seasons
Manly works with people like Jenni- have not always been as good as 2013.

fer Montague, who is the director of food
Give thanks to what we have.

From Dr Jarvis and his team at
Great Northern Dental Care
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on op-
posite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns
alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
257-5696
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