How Bounty of the Bridgers supports student nutrition

Nestled across the street from the American Indian Hall inside an unassuming building is a resource that not many students know about. The food pantry, Bounty of the Bridgers, is located at 1102 S. 6th St. and provides students in need with supplemental food such as rice, pasta, canned goods, bread and shelf-stable milk.

According to Margaret Davies, the basic needs program manager within the Department of Student Wellness, Bounty of the Bridgers started in 2017 as a student initiative.

According to Davies, within the last five to ten years, food pantries have become an area of focus for schools' student success departments.

“I think that has happened across the country just because costs of attendance to universities have continued to go up, and it's really hard to pay for school,” she said. “And often, when budgets are tight, food is the first thing to go. So I think students recognized that need back in 2017 and just wanted to support their fellow students, so they started trying to figure out solutions for that.”

With the increased cost of attending college, Bounty of the Bridgers has provided emergency-supplemental food to many students and that number continues to rise every semester. Last school year, they distributed 19,345 pounds of food to 735 unique students over 1,680 visits. Typically, students who use the food pantry visit more than once during the school year, according to Davies.

According to Davies, the food pantry anticipates more visits this semester based on trends from last year. “For example, in the spring of 2023, we were typically serving around 200 patrons or 200 visitors per month. So, not unique students, but visits. This last fall, we were seeing about 400 visits a month. So almost double from the spring to the fall,” Davies said.

According to Davies, the need for more supplemental food assistance has increased. Since Bounty of the Bridgers operates as a non-profit organization, many businesses and partnerships help to support its endeavors. Most of its programming is funded through the alumni foundation. However, according to Davies, grants from organizations like the Albertsons and Kroger foundations, individual donations, and partnerships with the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and local grocery stores like Smiths, Costco and Rosauer’s also support programming at Bounty of the Bridgers.

While the food pantry is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Davies noted that some products, such as bread, milk and household staples like flour and oil, go fast. The best time to find those items is after student employees complete their “food rescue” at the three grocery stores mentioned above. After the food rescue, students bring that food directly to the Family and Graduate Student Housing community center and distribute it immediately. Bounty of the Bridgers food rescue distribution pop-ups are from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

“We pick up anything that they are getting rid of that day that is non-perishable produce or bread items. The reason for that is Costco, for example, if they have a bag of ten oranges and one of them is moldy, but the other nine are fine, they can't distribute that. But if they give it to us, because of food pantry laws and whatnot, we can open that bag, get rid of the moldy one, and distribute the nine good oranges,” Davies said.

The food pantry is open to all, but they will ask if you are affiliated with MSU in some capacity, according to their website. “So if you go in, you say it's your first time, they'll give you a little tour, explain that everything is available to you. There are only limits on certain items that go really fast, but in terms of the total quantity of food right now, we don't have a limit. So whatever you think you'll go through, you're welcome to take,” Davies said. Some of those items that have limits include bread, milk, high-protein foods like canned meats and personal hygiene products, according to Davies.

According to Davies, the Office of Basic Needs is looking forward to its move to the new Wellness Center this spring, as it will be in a highly visible location and will be a new stop on every campus tour. Other services they offer include food scholarships, assistance navigating emergency housing, and assistance applying to public assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to their website.

Individual donations of monetary support are accepted on their website or in person in the form of food. If you want to donate money to Bounty of the Bridgers, you can do so at: www.montana.edu/oha/bounty-of-the-bridgers/index.html under the donations tab.

Perhaps you have some canned goods that you don’t see yourself using. Community members can donate those as well. “So if you're cleaning out your pantry, you can donate anything that is unopened, unexpired, and non-perishable. So if you have a can of beans, and you're moving, and you just don't want to deal with it, you can bring it to us anytime that we're open, and we'll take it,” Davies said.

For more details on other services provided by the Office of Basic Needs, head to their website https://www.montana.edu/oha/basicneeds/index.html. 

For more information about the Bounty of the Bridgers food pantry, check out its website https://www.montana.edu/oha/bounty-of-the-bridgers/index.html.