Season’s Greetings from the UM Pantry!

Well folks, it’s officially winter in Missoula, and the snow-capped mountains are looking as majestic as ever! The Pantry will stay open throughout winter break, though with somewhat reduced hours. We will continue to stock our Grab-n-Go shelf and provide SNAP application support by appointment only.

Now that the semester is over, it’s time for some reflection. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments of 2021:

Here’s a snapshot of our weekly produce distribution in the University Center.

This past summer, we harvested and distributed more than 400 pounds of fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs grown right behind our building through our new experiential learning garden program. Weekly distribution was free and open to all, and any leftovers went to the Pantry. Customers were also provided with nutritional information and recipe ideas for each crop. This program was a huge hit with our students, staff and faculty, and we hope to do it again next summer!

Once fall semester took off, a number of student groups worked to organize donation drives for the Pantry. First came the Women’s Law Caucus, Latine Student Union and Women’s Resource Center. Together, they sponsored a donation drive for personal care & infant care products… and raised over 600 individual items to be distributed in the Pantry!

Donations ranged from menstrual products, shampoo & conditioner, toothpaste & toothbrushes to diapers, formula, baby food and wipes.

Thank you Latine Student Union, Women’s Law Caucus, and Women’s Resource Center for organizing this drive! And thank you to everyone who donated.

As soon as the first donation drive ended, it was time to Can the Cats! Once again, student groups came together to raise donations for the UM Pantry.

Kappa Alpha Theta raised an outstanding 130 pounds of food donations during Can the Cats!

UM’s Pacific Islander’s Club raised a whopping 281 pounds of food donations during Can the Cats!

Our annual food drive competition with Bozeman/ MSU’s Bobcats brought in over 3,000 combined dollars and pounds of food for the UM Pantry- more than double our total from last year! Together with Missoula Food Bank, we helped raise a total of 583,010 combined dollars and pounds of food to feed our community. #GoGriz

As soon as the big competition was over, it was time to start planning for the holidays. Our team stocked up on traditional holiday staples such as turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, stuffing, cornbread and cranberry sauce. We used these ingredients to prepare Holiday Meal Kits to be distributed to UM students and their families, free of charge.

Collin & Hilary prepared and distributed 40 Holiday Meal Kits between Nov. 22nd & 23rd.

The Pantry has distributed over 16,000 pounds of food and personal care products to more than 250 households in 2021, including 150 new customers. Through our grocery rescue operation, we have also diverted over 1,000 pounds of food from the landfill to feed families in need.

This bread was rescued through our partnership with WinCo Foods.

As you can see, it’s been a pretty impactful year overall! The Pantry has received over 1,150 in-person visits and more than 6,350 pounds of in-kind donations in 2021.

Speaking of donations, there’s still time left to make a last-minute contribution to the Pantry before the holidays! A gift to the pantry could make all the difference to a student who is struggling with food insecurity. Donations can be made online at umt.edu/pantry or dropped off at our main location.

Well, that about sums it up for this year. Stay safe out there & enjoy the snow. From all of us at the UM Food Pantry, Happy Holidays!