MONTANA PARTNERSHIP TO END CHILDHOOD HUNGER INC

Nutrition in Schools & Healthcare--In Montana, as other rural health services disappear, schools are stepping up and becoming health and behavioral-health hubs for their communities. More than 80 of these school-based health clinics currently exist, and the number is growing. To support schools' efforts in this area and to bring other collaborators and supporters into the mix, in FY24 MT-PECH partnered with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to begin developing a child nutrition dashboard that enables schools and healthcare providers to work collaboratively to get fresh, quality, locally sourced food to kids in all parts of the state. The anticipated launch date for the dashboard is FY26. MT-PECH also helps emerging and existing Prescription Produce Programs in healthcare and supports statewide efforts to to integrate these programs into school clinics and other healthcare settings to improve the health of all Montanans. In FY24, MT-PECH helped develop and host the first-ever statewide Prescription Produce Summit to bring all entities working on these programs together to learn from each other to enhance local programs and partnerships. In addition, MT-PECH provides technical assistance to new and existing programs. To help meet the statewide demand for training and how-to information about Prescription Produce Programs, in FY24 MT-PECH shifted the format of its monthly Partner Group meetings to a learning collaborative for all programs working in the Nutrition in Schools and Healthcare space. The learning collaborative serves both as an educational collaborative and an incubator where Prescription Produce Programs, healthcare providers, funders, and schools can come together to improve nutrition and health outcomes for Montana kids. MT-PECH also helps support nutrition education and cooking classes for school students so more Montana kids and families can prepare and eat fresh, quality food at home.