Montana Harvest of the Month
About Harvest of the Month
The Montana Harvest of the Month program showcases Montana grown foods in Montana communities. Montana Harvest of the Month is open to K-12 schools, afterschool programs, Summer Food Service Programs, early care and education facilities, and healthcare institutions in Montana. This program is a collaboration between the Montana Office of Public Instruction, Montana Team Nutrition Program, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Montana State University Extension, Gallatin Valley Farm to School, FoodCorps Montana, and Montana Department of Agriculture.
Funds were provided in part by USDA Team Nutrition Training grants, USDA funds, USDA Farm to School grants, Montana Healthcare Foundation, Northern Pulse Growers Association, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Montana School Nutrition Association, Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, Montana Grains Foundation, Dairy MAX, and Montana Pulse Crop Committee.
Project evaluation is led by Dr. Carmen Byker Shanks of the Food and Health Lab at Montana State University. Original artwork was created by Anthony Maughan.
Each month, participating sites focus on promoting one locally grown item (e.g., winter squash) by serving it in at least one meal, snack, or a la carte offering, and displaying or distributing HOM materials. Additionally, schools and early care and education settings participate by offering taste tests to students and doing educational lessons and activities. Montana Harvest of the Month is a perfect way to launch or grow a farm to school or farm to cafeteria program as it provides an easy framework to follow and ready-to-use materials. Participating sites will receive a free packet of materials (includes posters and cafeteria, educator, and home handouts) as well as guides, additional resources, and training. The two primary goals for this program are to expose children and adults to new, healthy foods and to support Montana’s farmers and ranchers. Shown below is the calendar of items.
Watch the Harvest of the Month Intro Video.
Learn more about events and contests.
Calendar for August 2020 - July 2021
Lentils - Dec
Register Now
Is Your Program Registered?
Click on the map on the right to see if there is a registered site near you. Contact the team leader at a site in your area if you are interested in joining their team or would like to help them implement Montana Harvest of the Month.
Registrations are accepted throughout the year.
Need More Information?
If you are building your team and need more information and resources, check out the Resources page for handouts and additional information you can share before registering. Once registered, your site will have access to all of the materials, resources, and guides in electronic format and will be mailed your packet.
Check out the new Montana Harvest of the Month Best Practices Guide that examines the successes and challenges of the programs as well as a comparison with other states' harvest of the month programs.
Food producers want to learn how to be involved? Watch the Harvest of the Month for Producers Training Video here
Learn more about events and contests.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the K-12 School Harvest of the Month Program contact:
Aubree Roth, Montana Farm to School Coordinator
Montana Team Nutrition Program
(406) 994-5996
If you have questions regarding the Healthcare, ECE, or Business and Community Harvest of the Month Program contact:
Kei Matsunami, Montana Local Foods Program Specialist
NCAT
(406) 494-8672
