Community Food & Agriculture Coalition 2023

The Montana Produce Prescription Collaborative (MTPRx): Mainstreaming Grassroots Projects to Understand Program Impacts on Diabetes and Cholesterol

The Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) connects local farmers and families to nurture a strong regional food system. Its food access programming increases access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods and ensures that local food markets are accessible and equitable. This grant supports CFAC’s expansion and evaluation of their Montana Produce Prescription Collaborative. The collaborative is a Produce Prescription (PPR) program that helps health care providers prescribe locally sourced fruits and vegetables to patients and covers the cost of those items. The PPR program is primarily funded through the USDA's Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which incentivizes people to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Funds from MHCF will allow CFAC to expand the PPR cohort to three to five new sites. Funds will help with technical assistance and food prescriptions for culturally relevant protein sources not covered by GusNIP (such as bison, lake trout, and beans). Partners committing to participate in expansion sites are All Nations Health Center, Partnership Health Center, and FAST Blackfeet. The project will also allow CFAC to evaluate the program's impact on nutrition and related health outcomes among food-insecure people with diet-related chronic medical issues such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Grant Amount

$47,000

Term

12 month

2023

Homeword, Inc. 2023

Creekside Apartments 4%

Homeword, Inc. is working to secure financing to preserve the affordability of Creekside Apartments in the long-term, and carry out a rehabilitation that will improve the safety and quality of these 161 rental units in Missoula. Homeword is a nonprofit housing developer that has created or preserved 1,319 affordable units across the state. The property's rehabilitation will provide new siding, roofing, windows, mechanical systems, and plumbing systems, among other improvements. The resulting modifications will improve housing quality and reduce safety risks to tenants. Creekside Apartments was purchased by Homeward in 2017 and is a mix of studios, one, two, and three bedrooms, targeted to households earning between 50 and 60% of the area median income. The homes were developed in 1996 using the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program. Language included in the state's qualified allocation plan when the project was developed would allow the project to exit the LIHTC program and its corresponding affordability restrictions without penalty in 2026 or possibly even earlier. In areas with strong rental markets, characterized by escalating rents and low vacancies, projects like Creekside (located near the University of Montana) are at high risk of conversion to market rate rentals, resulting in displacement of low- and moderate-income renters. In recognition of this risk, Homeword partnered with the City of Missoula, First Security Bank, and NeighborWorks Montana to purchase the property and prevent the displacement of low- and moderate-income households. The financing structure – which includes a mix of LIHTC, a city-issued bond, financing from CDFI NeighborWorks Montana, and state and local grant sources – allowed Homeword to make an offer competitive with speculative market offers while making interest-only payments supported by affordable rents. With this financing package, Homeword will preserve and extend the affordability of the property while carrying out an extensive renovation that will substantially improve quality and safety. MHCF’s relatively small contribution of long-term, low-cost debt will help Homeword to complete the project without accumulating an operating deficit that could threaten its viability in the long term.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

Other

2023

Hopa Mountain 2023

Local Food for Local Families

Hopa Mountain will lead the Local Food for Local Families initiative, a collaborative effort with Mission West Community Development Partners, Local Food Marketplace, Livingston Food Resource Center, Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC), Western Montana Growers Cooperative, Great Northern Development Corporation (GNDC), and the Montana Food Bank Network. This network supports the development, coordination, and expansion of rural and tribal food pantries and food hubs to increase access to healthy, locally produced food in food deserts across the state. Project partners provide peer-to-peer capacity building and technical assistance to help new and prospective food pantries develop plans to source local foods and create revenue-generating strategies. Annual Local Food Summits present an opportunity for project partners to share information and build relationships. MHCF funds will be used for the Local Food Outreach Coordinator staff position and contracts with partner organizations providing technical assistance. The grant leverages an award from USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program and proposes an evaluation of key data, including information about purchases of local and regional agricultural products, as compared to baseline information gathered in 2017.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Mitchell Court LLLP 2023

Mitchell Court Apartments

Mitchell Court is a proposed 32-unit Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) new construction project in Billings. The housing will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments targeted to be affordable to households earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). MHCF funds will leverage approximately $5.4 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and over $3.2 million in funds from Montana's coal trust and HOME Investment Partnership programs. In a demonstration of local commitment, the City of Billings has also preliminarily committed HOME funds totaling $1.2 million and $350,000 in Tax Increment Financing. This project will carry a 51-year Land Use Restriction Agreement (LURA), ensuring long-term affordability. The proposed development shares common amenities with a neighboring project, Jackson Court, creating efficiencies for property management and tenants. The project is well-served by public transportation and is near schools and parks, ideal for a family-focused development. MHCF funds will allow health-enhancing design elements, including ADA features that minimize fall and injury risk and improve accessibility for disabled residents, and low VOC materials, electric ranges and ovens, hard surface floors, and quality HVAC systems that reduce building elements known to exacerbate asthma and increase the risk of respiratory illness and falls. Additionally, funds will be used to implement the physical and site improvements the Billings Crime Prevention recommended through the Environmental Design initiative and for a walking and exercise path. Partners include HomeFront (the Billings-area housing authority), Big Sky Senior Services, Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow, Montana Department of Commerce, and the City of Billings.

Grant Amount

$750,000

Term

Other

2023

Montana Cooperative Development Center 2023

Advancing Cooperative Initiatives in Montana Communities

Montana Cooperative Development Center (MCDC) works with communities to develop new and support existing cooperatives and evaluate cooperative business models to meet their objectives. Cooperatives are member-owned businesses that operate for the benefit of members rather than earning profits for investors. This project will develop four new housing and local food cooperatives in rural and tribal communities. Funds will support community engagement, in-person informational sessions, training, and technical assistance to build capacity in rural and tribal communities and develop housing and local cooperatives. These in-person events will be supplemented by the development of an online knowledge hub, including toolkits for housing and food cooperatives adapted to Montana's regulatory environment. MCDC supports communities through all phases of cooperative development, from concept exploration and planning to legal organization establishing operations. MDCD anticipates supporting up to four new cooperatives during the course of the grant.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

One Health 2023

Hardin Acreage Planning

One Health is a federally qualified health center serving Big Horn County. This project will support planning activities for the development of community housing on a 26-acre parcel in Hardin, including community engagement, the development of a preliminary architectural report, and the creation of a request for proposals for development services. Funds will be used to hire a consultant to lead community engagement efforts to inform this development and ensure robust engagement with the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Tribes. Given their extensive experience working with Native communities across Montana and the nation, One Health will contract with Beaux-Simone Consulting (BSC). Key outcomes include community engagement to inform a preliminary architectural report and the creation of a request for proposals for development services. Additional partners include the City of Hardin, Big Horn County, and Beartooth RC&D.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

18 month

2023

Red Lodge Area Community Foundation 2023

Expanding Rural Affordable Housing

The Red Lodge Area Community Foundation (RLACF) will lead a community-driven effort to create 20 affordable housing units in the Red Lodge area. RLACF plays an essential role in housing and social services in Carbon County. Enrollment for nearly all assistance programs, like SNAP, Section 8, WIC, Energy assistance, and Medicaid, is offered at offices in Billings, which isn't feasible for many residents. Consequently, RLACF stepped in to lead workforce housing efforts, public transportation, service navigation, and enrollment assistance. RLACF's efforts to address workforce housing resulted in a community housing needs assessment and plan, which identified potential development sites across the county. The group has secured a commitment from a landowner in Bridger to purchase two acres for a 20-home development. This project will result in a site development feasibility study informed by a public input process led by RLACF and their contractor. Funds will support staff and contractor time. Partners include members of the Workforce Housing Steering Committee, a broad-based community coalition, the Town of Bridger, Helena Area Habitat for Humanity, Trust Montana, and Beartooth RC&D.

Grant Amount

$37,737

Term

12 month

2023

The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Inc. 2023

A Network for Rural Schools as Nutrition Hubs

The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger (MT-PECH) creates collaborations and partnerships across all sectors of Montana's food system to build awareness, address root causes of hunger, and maximize community-based resources to increase access to culturally appropriate, nutrient-rich food. The Network for Rural Schools and Nutrition Hubs project will work with small, rural schools in neighboring communities to help school meal programs serve more local, scratch-made foods. Power and Choteau schools will participate in the program, with plans to bring two additional schools (Conrad and Valier) on board. Food system partners include school and summer meal programs, Indigenous food sovereignty programs, and healthcare partners, along with state and local food programs. The project will leverage local food production to increase the nutritional value of school breakfasts/lunches and food security in a manner that may be scalable to other rural communities and have potential policy implications. MT-PECH is working with the MSU system to learn about improving food distribution and buying power among rural schools and institutions as well. Funds from MHCF will be used to hire part-time staff to support the schools and create a guide and framework for other small, rural schools to implement their own programs.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

United Housing Partners 2023

Twin Creek Apartments

This program-related investment (PRI) will support the Twin Creek Apartments, a 72-home, new construction low-income housing tax credit development in Helena. The project will consist of a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments targeted to be affordable to households earning less than 70% of the Area Median Income (AMI), including 12 units that will be affordable to households earning less than 30% AMI. Twin Creek will provide safe, affordable rental housing to approximately 179 individuals at a time, including roughly 35 with extremely low, often fixed incomes. Twin Creek recently received a Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocation from the Montana Board of Housing of over $10 million, further leveraged by $3 million in national and local housing trust fund commitments and $7.5 million in private investment. Confirmed partners include the City of Helena, Helena Housing Authority, YWCA, and Rocky Mountain Development Council.

Grant Amount

$500,000

Term

Other

2023