“Hunger is a growing concern for too many households in Montana,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.  “One of the best ways to fix the problem is to better utilize our food resources.  This resolution encourages the federal agencies to be a more productive part of the solution.”

            The Federal Food Donation Act of 2007, (H.R. 4220), affects federal agencies of the executive branch which provide, serve, or sell food on their premises.  The measure encourages the agencies to donate their excess food to non-profit agencies.

            “This can be a valuable tool in the campaign to battle hunger,” said Peggy Grimes, Executive Director of the Montana Food Bank Network (MFBN).  “With the growth of the secondary food buying market, food manufacturers are selling more of their surplus food and donating less to hunger organizations.  We’ll be able to use this policy to try and find additional resources to help meet the needs of hunger relief agencies across the state.”

            According to Grimes, overall food donations to MFBN were down 24% from 2006 to 2007.  The Montana Food Bank Network served over 80,000 Montanans in 2006, a third of which were under the age of 18.  MFBN secures and distributes nearly 3.5 million pounds of donated and low cost food and grocery products annually to 189 hunger relief agencies throughout Montana. 

            “Step by step, we’ll continue our efforts to tackle this problem,” added Rehberg, who helped secure a $495,000 federal appropriation for a vital 17,000 square-foot MFBN warehouse expansion.  The groundbreaking took place in Missoula on October 27^th, 2007.