Cookbooks, workshops, and more!

Hello friends! We hope you are staying safe & healthy, and enjoying this lovely Montana summer. Our Food Is Freedom campaign resulted in $385 in donations to the UM Pantry from Juneteenth — July 4th. Thank you to everyone who donated & helped to spread the word!

We are SUPER EXCITED to announce that physical copies of the UM Food Pantry’s Hungry Student Cookbook are now available for distribution at our main location, free of charge.

The Hungry Student Cookbook was written by our very own two-term AmeriCorps VISTA, Hilary Rosa!

The cookbook features 40+ recipes specially designed with UM Pantry shoppers in mind, in addition to lots of helpful information for folks who have limited time, money, and experience preparing for food. Swing by to pick up your copy on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday from 11am-3pm.

Next on the agenda: our summer garden program is EXPANDING! Our garden intern will be hosting several free workshops over the next month, beginning this Friday! These workshops will focus on improving food sovereignty through home gardening techniques & practices for all income levels. Check out the flier below for more details.

All workshops meet in the UC Garden area by the Northeast corner of the University Center from 1pm–3pm.

Finally, our obligatory ask: we are SERIOUSLY in need of donations! Food donations, hygiene donations, monetary donations- you name it! This summer has been busier than we could have ever expected, and our shelves are nearly wiped out. With gas prices and inflation putting strain on more and more households, it is all the more important to support community resources like ours when/ if you can!

One customer recently told us how grateful she is that we could provide toilet paper & paper towels: “It’s just one less thing I have to worry about,” she said. “I have three kids and my SNAP benefits just aren’t enough. I’m so glad you [the Pantry] are here.”

We hear these kinds of stories on a daily basis, and we are so glad to be able to support UM families and others in crises. Please help us continue to meet the need in our community!

Folks can bring donations to the Pantry during our hours of operation or leave them in the drop-off basket outside our door. Monetary donations can be made here.

We placed a whiteboard outside our office to ask students for their thoughts. Some left kind messages and thank yous, and some asked for more resources.

Thank you all for your support & keeping up with the UM Food Pantry! Stay cool out there.