As food insecurity continues to rise in Park County, the Livingston Food Resource Center is turning to local ranchers and meat processors to help fill a growing gap in its protein supply.
According to Executive Director Kaya Patten-Fusselman, one in eight Park County residents relies on the food pantry. Of those clients, one in five are children, one in three are seniors and many of those seniors are veterans.
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"Last Tuesday we saw 141 visits in two hours," Patten-Fusselman said.
The increased demand comes as the pantry faces a significant reduction in food received through federal programs.
Patten-Fusselman said federal cuts resulted in a 40% reduction in food distributed through the state commodities warehouse, amounting to roughly $80,000 worth of lost nutrition.
"We were watching these government cuts start in early 2025, and the shutdown was sort of this pinnacle of safety nets failing," she said.
Much of the loss came in the form of protein, one of the most expensive food items for both families and food pantries to purchase.
"We have to buy over 50% of the food that comes into the food pantry," Patten-Fusselman said. "We are a rural county. We have two grocery stores in Livingston."
Looking for a way to offset those costs, Livingston Food Resource Center board member Colin Davis and other board members developed a new initiative called "21 Cows."
The name reflects the amount of beef needed to meet the pantry's annual protein needs.
"Our protein needs, and we are buying most of it, is equivalent to 21 cows," Davis said.
The program encourages ranchers and livestock producers to donate animals that may no longer be marketable through traditional channels but are still suitable for processing and consumption.
"If we can reach all of these ranchers and people producing livestock and get them to understand that if a calf does break a leg, we will come get it, we will take it ourselves and have it processed and give you the tax rebate for that," Davis said.
Turning donated livestock into food for families requires a processing partner. That's where Producer Partnership, a nonprofit meat processor based in Livingston, comes in.
"Producer Partnership is the only federally inspected nonprofit meat processing facility in the United States," said Executive Director Matt Pierson.
Pierson said the facility helps process locally raised meat for food banks, schools and communities throughout Montana.
When the 21 Cows initiative approached the organization, he said partnering with the program was an easy decision.
"Having groups like this that want to go out to their community and want to help make that difference, that is a key critical component that we need help with of being able to reach everybody," Pierson said.
Organizers say the initiative is ultimately about more than providing meat. They see it as another example of neighbors helping neighbors in a rural community.
"Politics aside, we are really great at taking care of each other," Davis said.
More information about the 21 Cows initiative and ways to contribute can be found through the Livingston Food Resource Center.
https://livingstonfrc.org/initiatives-economic-hub-program-impact/21-cows.html
