About 4,500 households in Flathead and Lincoln counties will not receive the federal food benefits they rely on this November, according to local food security organizations.

Nonprofits across the Flathead Valley have pledged to step up to the plate after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that it would forgo using contingency funds to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown. Colloquially known as SNAP or food stamps, the program helps feed more than 80,000 people in Montana alone. 

“We’re ready for whoever needs help. We have enough food. We’re going to serve the community. We’re going to do our best,” said Gretchen Boyer, the executive director of the Columbia Falls nonprofit Land to Hand. 

The organization assembles each week about 400 packages of food, which are then distributed to food-insecure students in Columbia Falls School District. The students take the bags home each weekend, ensuring they have access to healthy meals even when the school cafeteria is closed. 

This week, in addition to the typical boxes of mac and cheese and granola bars, each bag will include a note reminding parents and caregivers that Land to Hand is available to help anyone struggling with food security. It’s just one way the organization is extending its reach in anticipation of increased hunger and food insecurity this November. 

Boyer compared the abrupt stall in SNAP benefits to the Covid-19 pandemic, when Land to Hand volunteers distributed upwards of 750 bags of food a week. She is prepared to reach, or even exceed, those numbers this month as many families in the area lose a small, but vital source of funds.  

“We’re going to make it work for folks who are probably pretty scared right now,” said Boyer. “Hungry children are not an option." 

Nearly 40% of SNAP beneficiaries are children, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another 20% are 60 years or older. 

All participants in the program must fall below certain income standards, which vary based on the number of individuals in the household and whether the participants qualify for other low-income assistance programs.  

“It’s going to hit people who are already hit hard. If they’re getting SNAP benefits, they’re not well off financially,” said B Bradford Fenchak, who runs the nonprofit Community Kitchen-Feeding the Flathead. 

The organization works with churches across the Flathead Valley to offer free evening meals for those in need. While Bradford Fenchak said there was no such thing as a typical evening, she estimated volunteers serve anywhere from 30 to 60 people every day. That flexibility will come in handy as she expects numbers to fluctuate even more in the coming month. 

“We’ll make sure we’ll have enough food,” she said. “We’re already prepared for things to be unpredictable, and if we do get an influx of people, we have things we can fix in a hurry.” 

The North Valley Food Bank in Whitefish is also accustomed to dealing with the unexpected. In just five years, the number of people served by the organization has increased threefold, a change that Executive Director Sophie Albert largely attributes to the rising cost of living in the Flathead Valley.  

At the same time, the organization has seen a loss in federal support. Earlier this year, the Trump administration slashed funding to the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supplied about 20% of the North Valley Food Bank’s food supplies. A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, which the food bank intended to use to expand its mobile food pantry program, was also rescinded.  

Despite the cuts, the food bank has been working to increase its capacity ahead of Nov. 1, when new work and reporting requirements for the SNAP program were set to go into effect. Albert anticipated the changes would cause some people to be dropped from the program, either because they no longer qualified or because they fell behind on the extra paperwork necessary to stay enrolled. To respond to the need, she expanded the operating hours of the food bank and reserved extra warehouse space. 

Those additions will now help North Valley Food Bank tackle an even greater crisis. With all SNAP benefits stalled, Albert said she expected the food bank would be seeing as much as a 200% increase in visitors. The organization currently serves between 1,200 and 1,500 people a week through its main location in Whitefish and mobile food pantries in Olney, Trego and Essex. 

“I think we’re ready,” said Albert. “As ready as we can be.” 

All three nonprofits said they offer volunteer opportunities for community members interested in helping. For those interested in donating, Albert and Boyer suggested giving money as food banks can often purchase bulk food items at heavily discounted prices. If community members are interested in donating food items, Boyer suggested contacting the food bank first to see what items are needed. 

Community Kitchen-Feeding the Flathead maintains an online calendar of free meals in the Flathead Valley at communitykitchen-feedingtheflatheadinc.com.  

For help finding food banks and other emergency food services in the area, visit mfbn.org/get-help.  

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].