New partnerships are vital in sharing our community’s needs and our clients’ stories.  We always hope to extend our organization’s mission and service programs to new audiences to better ensure that people who need us know who we are and how we can help.  Furthermore, as we build and expand business partnerships, as Missoula Food Bank is doing with Wal-Mart, we learn more about the talents and resources in our own community that can shape and strengthen our emergency food services. 

As Wal-Mart is one of the largest companies on the planet, it might seem inherently challenging to forge localized relationships that attend to localized needs.  We are excited to highlight a partnership that demonstrates quite the opposite.

 The work of Missoula Food Bank is about service to people in need.  Our local Super Wal-Mart has shown a commitment to our organization and our clientele through its employees’ own understanding of service.  Whether through departmental bake sale fundraisers, storewide food donations, hosting live on-site radio remotes, or volunteer time spent at our own grocery store, Wal-Mart Associates have begun to find their own personal and professional connections to Missoula Food Bank.

To further solidify our new partnership with Wal-Mart, we are grateful to have been awarded a grant that has contributed to the general food supply of our grocery store, inclusive of a new dairy program. With the help of funds supplied by Wal-Mart through this grant, Missoula Food Bank has for the first time in its 28-year history been able to provide a daily dairy component to our food distribution program.  Before now, any dairy items we had were secured through generous but sporadic donations from other local vendors.  Now, in addition to the financial support that this grant has provided our general food supply, this nutritionally important part of our distribution can be counted on as a daily staple.

Thank you to Wal-Mart for joining us in service to thousands of hungry individuals and families inMissoula and Western Montana!