Happy Tuesday, Beacon readers! Mariah Thomas here, dispatching from the Beacon’s HQ for the first time in over a week and happy to be here. I spent my weekend soaking up the beautiful, sunny fall weather we’ve been having here in the Flathead, and I’m hoping you all got to do the same.
Over the summer, I reported on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and how there’s more beneath the surface when it comes to a falling number of enrollees. (For a refresher, that story is linked at the bottom of this newsletter.) Despite lower figures of SNAP beneficiaries in the state and in the area, food bank directors in the Flathead say the need for their services has remained steady. And over the past year and a half that I’ve been following this issue, they’ve described a constantly changing environment as grant cuts, an affordability crisis, a government shutdown and changes to SNAP from H.R. 1 reshape their services, both by decreasing funding and increasing community needs.
One thing some of those folks touched on when I connected with them over the summer was the next change coming down the pike in the form of the implementation of Montana’s healthy SNAP food restriction demonstration waiver. That waiver was meant to go into effect Sept. 30, but its implementation has now been delayed to Nov. 1, meaning households, retailers and food banks have roughly a month to prepare for the changes to hit.
The state’s waiver, which it submitted in March to request the restrictions, would stop allowing SNAP to be used to purchase candy, high-sugar beverages, energy drinks and shelf-stable prepared desserts. It won’t change who qualifies for SNAP, nor will it change benefit amounts.
In the state’s request to implement the waiver, it wrote that it wanted to “evaluate the impact of restricting nutrient-poor food items on SNAP households in Montana, where diet-related chronic conditions are a growing concern.”
“We have a serious problem, and we are putting a lot of money into helping people out, which I’m perfectly fine with, but a lot of the problem is it’s not going to nutrition,” said Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, in a February 2025 hearing for SB 354. He added the legislation’s intention was to help people spend on nutritious foods, and to create incentive for stores to carry healthier options.
But the Montana Food Bank Network and the Montana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association each opposed the bills, which didn’t pass muster in 2025’s legislative session. Each of those groups cited concerns retailers may choose to withdraw from SNAP if they needed to redo their inventory to fall in line with the waiver.
When I talked with local food bank directors about SNAP numbers back in July, Jamie Quinn, the director of the Bigfork Food Bank, raised concerns about the ways the healthy SNAP implementation could impact rural areas in particular.
“I recently drove from Kalispell to Helena through the Seeley-Swan and there’s no grocery stores,” Quinn said. “It’s the Mission Valley gas station in the Swan and Seeley area. And what would that look like for certain communities that don’t have anything besides that little store there to get their milk and products?”
It looks like Montana is primed to find out the answer to that question soon. I, for one, remain curious about the impending impacts to households and retailers myself.
If you’re a retailer who might be impacted by this in any way, or a SNAP beneficiary this might touch, or if you simply have thoughts on this waiver and its implementation, I’d love to hear from you. You can find my contact info on our “About Us” page.
Mariah Thomas, over and out. Onto the rest of today’s Daily Roundup.
Workforce Rental Units to Open Up in South Whitefish Housing Development
Twelve income-restricted apartments are expected in the first phase of Alpine 93/40 — a new development complex being built just south of Whitefish near the intersection of U.S. Highway 93 and Montana Highway 40.
At Two Sisters Cafe, Susan and Beth Higgins are serving up Blackfeet-raised bison, with a side of education, for the unversed tourists and seasoned travelers alike
‘We Just See More and More People’: Flathead Food Banks Say Demand Steady as SNAP Benefits Taper and Prices Rise
From changes to work requirements to more cumbersome SNAP paperwork and an ongoing affordability crisis, food bank directors said determining a single cause was challenging
Whether you’ve been here for decades or you’re new to the Flathead Valley, our reporting is here to help you feel smarter and in the loop about the issues most important to Northwest Montana. With your support, we can build a more engaged, informed community.
