GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Cascade County is set to receive more emergency food and shelter funding. The United Way of Cascade County is set to distribute $25,823 to help boost non-profit funding this spring.
Eligible organizations could apply online to receive some of that money through the national Emergency Food and Shelter program. A local board of representatives from the American Red Cross, Opportunities Inc., and the Salvation Army are working to directly buy food and provide shelter for low-income and homeless people in the area.
Local farmers and ranchers hope people in outlying towns like Monarch, Neihart, Sun River, and Vaughn turn to them for support as well.
In 2012, Food Bank of the Rockiesâ Western Slope branch relocated from Grand Junction to a larger, more spacious warehouse in Palisade that would serve as its base of operations.
At the time, the branch was distributing more than 3.5 million pounds of food annually through various drives and sponsors. It was doing terrific work in the community, but the sponsors knew there was a larger need out there, one that a new facility might help them address.
In 2020, a year plagued by the coronavirus and economic woes, the branch distributed nearly 10 million pounds of food. Three and a half months into 2021, itâs distributed nearly 14 million pounds, a 289% increase since the relocation. Count the move as a success.
City council, 7 p.m. via Zoom, link at www.columbianaohio.gov
East Liverpool
East Palestine
Hammondsville
Hanoverton
Knox Township
Newell
Lisbon
Proverbs food bank, 9-9:30 a.m., St. George, 117 W. Chestnut
County Family & Children First Council, mandated member, 9 a.m. via Zoom, contact sullom@ccesc.k12.oh.us for login info
ESC, 4:30 p.m., office
Library board, 4:30 p.m
Negley
Salem
City Council, 7 p.m., via Zoom
Public hearing, regarding alley vacation behind Presbyterian Church, 6:45 p.m., followed by city council meeting, both via Zoom
Wellsville
WED/4-21
Park board, 6 p.m., muni building
Eagles, drive-thru beef tips and noodles, 4-6 p.m. or gone, $10, $9 if over 65, preorder at 853-8483
USDA plans to end the food box program that has routed 157 million pounds of surplus food to needy people over the past year.
The Farmers to Families Food Box Program will sunset at the end of May when the funding runs out, a USDA spokesperson said April 15.
USDA will continue to make commodity purchases, including through a temporary fresh produce box program and a Dairy Donation Program that is in development.
USDA created the food box program with stimulus funding early in the pandemic. Farmers were battered by the loss of food service markets, many people were newly out of work, and Food Box offered a new supply chain to meet those needs.
Journal Standard
Illinois Farm Bureau, Feeding Illinois and the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute have begun a farm to food bank feasibility study.
During COVID-19, farmers witnessed the importance of the USDA Farms to Families Food Box Program, which purchased food products from farmers, worked with distributors to package the food into family-size boxes and transported the food to food banks for those in need. This program showed that food banks purchasing directly from farms helps increase food access and farm profitability.
We have a unique opportunity to identify and build a long-term market and infrastructure where Illinois farmers can grow and supply food directly for Illinois food banks. However, to build a viable system, we need to hear from our farmers, specifically: livestock, dairy, grain and specialty crop farmers.