St. Ignatius Schools has been awarded the Local Food For Schools grant through the Office of Public Instruction. We will be partnering with Western Montana Growers Cooperative for local purchases. We are very excited about this new opportunity and partnership. Special thanks to our Elementary Principal, Chantell Moore, for pioneering these efforts.
Through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) will purchase and distribute local and regional foods and beverages for schools to serve children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
These products will be healthy and unique to their geographic area, with the goal of improving
child nutrition and building new relationships between schools and local farmers.
“This cooperative agreement supporting Montana schools is another example of how USDA is
working to build a more resilient food system rooted in local and regional production,” said
USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program provides an opportunity for states to
strengthen ties between local farmers, ranchers, food businesses and schools, and gives
students access to nutritious foods unique to the area they live in, building stronger
connections across local communities.”
“Strengthening relationships between local producers and schools is a long-term strategy to
ensure our children always have access to nutritious foods in school, a win-win for child health
and American agriculture,” said Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer
Services Stacy Dean. “Through this program and many other efforts to support the school meal programs, USDA is committed to giving schools the tools they need to set children up to learn, grow, and thrive.”
With the LFS funds, OPI will expand the volume and variety of local products purchased as well
as the number of Montana suppliers who conduct business with schools.