Locally made Montana marinara to be brought to students statewide
Boone Goddard
Diced tomatoes are ready to be added to the Montana marinara sauce made at the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center last Thursday.
Boone Goddard
Safflower oil, onions and leeks are the first ingredients to be cooked in large vats.
Boone Goddard
Boxes labeled Montana Marinara are ready to ship the freshly made sauce to schools around the state.
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Boone Goddard
Boone Goddard
Boone Goddard
Boone Goddard
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RONAN — A locally crafted menu item will be made available to every K-12 school district in the state that participates in the National School Lunch Program this winter.
The “Montana Marinara” sauce, created through a partnership between the Northwest Food Hub Network and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, will source Montana-grown ingredients from small, sustainable family farms through the Western Montana Growers Cooperative.
The goal stated in a press release distributed by Mission West Community Development Partners is to “bring fresh, nourishing food to Montana students as well as support the state’s small farms [that] have faced two difficult seasons due to COVID-19.”
On Dec. 9, partners gathered to witness the processing of a sample run of the sauce including Montana-grown squash, onions, carrots, and more. Over 320 gallons of sauce will be produced to be distributed among schools.
“This partnership is a great learning opportunity to provide our Montana students with locally sourced products. Supplying Montana Marinara to our students continues the wonderful tradition of farm to school foods that support our local Montana farmers,” stated Superintendent Elsie Arntzen in a press release.
“It’s great for farms, it’s great for school children, and it’s even (we hope) great for school foodservice budgets,” wrote Anne Harney, Local Food Promotion Coordinator of Mission West.
Samples of the sauce are expected to be distributed to schools to try the product starting mid- to late-January.
