Coming Together to Feed Ourselves
“My plate is my family’s plate,” says Sarah, a young Montana mother.
Last summer, Sarah joined a community garden so she could learn to grow food with her 3-year-old daughter, Amber.
“At the start of the summer, I thought Amber’s biggest surprise was going to be when she pulled a carrot out of the dirt. It wasn’t. One weekend, my husband brought home fish he’d caught, and we served it with a salad Amber and I had just harvested. Halfway through dinner, Amber got very quiet and stopped eating. I asked her what was up. She looked up and whispered, ‘We MADE this plate!’ As special as this moment was for her and me, I want it to feel normal for Amber. Why? Because if she knows where her food comes from and, better yet, how to grow it, I know she’ll be healthy and strong. That’s why I want 33% Montana-grown food on my plate.”
Sarah is one of many Montanans joining the 33×33 for Montana Initiative, an effort started in 2023 to explore what it would take to get 33% Montana-grown food on all Montana plates by 2033.
While 33% may seem like a small amount, it would be significant progress from where we stand today. Currently, only 3% of the food Montanans eat is grown or raised in-state. But in 1950, it was 70%.
This increase is achievable. Montanans are uniquely equipped with the knowledge, experience, and partnerships needed to make Montana food self-reliant again, which is critical to Montana’s future security.
The 33×33 for Montana Initiative developed out of a series of listening sessions facilitated by Abundant Montana. For the moment, Abundant Montana will continue to lead the Initiative. However, the goal is for the Initiative to be a collaboration: a network of individuals, communities, and private and public enterprises solving the production, processing, and distribution pinch points that currently keep us dependent on imported food.
For the 33×33 for Montana Initiative to be successful, each of us must take the time to consider where the food on our plate is sourced from and explore how to make more of it local.
Here’s why a plate filled with 33% local food is important to these Montanans:
Steve, a community elder and veteran: “For the health of my family, my community, my state, and my country.”
Dave, retired lentil farmer: “To help support Montana gardeners, farmers, and orchardists, and to lower my personal carbon footprint.”
Anna, an organic commodity grain farmer: “I want 33% Montana-grown food on all Montana plates because it’s about caring for each other and the amazing place I’m lucky enough to call home.”
To find out more about the 33×33 for Montana Initiative, read more stories of how Montanans are filling their plates with 33% local food, and share why you want 33% Montana-grown food on YOUR plate, visit abundantmontana.com/33×33
FIND MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ONE IN OUR LOCAL FOOD GUIDE!