MISSOULA — Democratic Congressional candidate Monica Tranel visited the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, as part of her “I’m Listening Montana” tour.
Tranel — who is running once again for Montana Congressional District 1 against Republican Ryan Zinke — was given a tour of the food bank’s front of house, warehouse, early childhood area and community center.
Along the way, Tranel learned about the bank's distribution network and food-sourcing line. She also asked questions about the organization’s dependency on local farmers and how the stalled U.S. Farm Bill may affect them.
Tranel — who spoke with employees, volunteers and customers — was surprised by both the number of volunteers that were behind the organization and the number of customers that used their services every day.
“Well, it’s interesting to hear the needs that are going up and increasing, and that the, what we all know and experience — increasing cost of food and housing — that’s having very direct impacts on our community,” she said. “And then [the] number of people that are served here, 250 to 300 a day. And that's going up and the resources are all getting pressured, for sure.”
Tranel also asked talked with her tour guide — Missoula Food Bank Development Coordinator Jesse Jaeger, — bout their aid in SNAP applications, how much they rely on federal assistance, connections with local schools, the overall effects of inflation, and what Jaegar sees as a solution attainable through the federal government.
The tour was a way to see how many working-class Missoula residents rely on community services such as the food bank and to engage further with the middle class, according to Tranel.
“People come here when they can't make ends meet, and that includes lots of people who are working in good jobs across the county,” she said. “So people who are in law enforcement, teachers, nonprofit employees, people who are making our communities go, are the ones who are using the services and places like the food bank. So what I want to do is to grow the middle class. I want to be someone who has a voice for the middle class and to work for the people who make America go.”
Tranel also hosted a roundtable discussion with the Community Food & Agriculture Coalition, Missoula Electric Cooperative, Climate Smart Missoula, Families for a Livable Climate, Garden City Harvest, and the Missoula Food Bank.
Some of the topics discussed focused on the connections between food security, economic injustice, and the search for renewable energy and the impact of the Farm Bill on these sectors.
