MONTANA PARTNERSHIP TO END CHILDHOOD HUNGER INC

Programs

1. Child Nutrition--The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger (MT-PECH) is transforming how school food systems operate in Montana. During the year, MT-PECH improved access to fresh, quality food for more than 5,000 Montana school children, generating school meal participation rates in schools that worked with us of at least 82%, with some schools exceeding 90%, significantly above the state and national averages. We also helped connect 9,290 school children outside our Rural School Networks to critical summer EBT benefits, which they would not have otherwise received. Additional accomplishments included 1) Expanding our Rural School Networks from two cohorts of four schools each to a broader multi-region effort supporting improved meal quality and program sustainability in four cohorts comprised of just over 20 schools; 2) Changing from only two of these schools sourcing and serving Montana-grown foods, and none of the schools intentionally serving Indigenous foods, to all participating schools using both Montana-sourced foods and Indigenous foods and recipes in their school meal programs; 3) Providing training and technical assistance to 325 Montana school nutrition…

   $115,917 spentof which $10,831 as grants
   42% of program spending

2. Food Systems & Agriculture--During the tax year, MT-PECH strengthened Montana food systems by advancing coordination across producers, Tribal partners, distributors, and institutional buyers, focusing on improving efficiency, resilience, and long-term sustainability. Key accomplishments included: 1) Expanding a statewide collaborative network, engaging 48 partners across Tribal, community, and statewide organizations to coordinate school food-system development efforts and support shared solutions; 2) Developing and disseminating procurement tools, including a Traditional Foods in Montana Schools Toolkit, now used by 38% (124 out of 325) of Montana's school districts located across its 145,550 square miles, to support sourcing and use of Montana-grown and Indigenous foods in school meals; 3) Strengthening producer-to-institution supply chains by including producers directly in trainings for school food service directors; 4) Developing four geographically based lists of Montana produce and protein growers interested in selling products to Montana schools for use by school food service directors, thus advancing institutional market opportunities for producers; 5) Implementing…

   $91,866 spent
   33% of program spending

3. Nutrition in Healthcare--MT-PECH promoted the integration of nutrition into Montana's healthcare and community health systems during the year to help ensure all Montana kids and their families can eat fresh, quality Montana-grown foods, thereby reducing the incidence of food-related chronic disease across the state. Key accomplishments included: 1) Developing cross-sector partnerships that connected healthcare providers, schools, and community organizations, helping them align around nutrition and health strategies benefiting kids and families in their communities; 2) Advancing produce prescription and nutrition initiatives by helping convene and host a statewide Produce Prescription conference; 3) Providing assistance to new and existing nutrition in healthcare programs to strengthen their model, their funding, and their communications with healthcare leadership; 4) Leadership in statewide coordination efforts, including identifying and addressing of service gaps, to increase the amount of nutrition education available to all Montana students; and 5) Creating partnerships with state and national health organizations to fund Montana school kitchen-equipment purchases. These…

   $50,784 spent
   18% of program spending

4. Narrative Change--MT-PECH strives to build a statewide understanding that eating fresh, quality food improves the health of all Montanans, from mitigating chronic disease to improving kids' ability to learn and achieve in school. This understanding forms the foundation of all of the organization's programs and services.

   $20,000 spent
   7% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $278,567.