Our Mission
Building food security, strengthening communities.
Our Vision
We envision a world with well-nourished, connected communities.
Our Values
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Dignity
We value the voices of our communities and carry out all of our work with respect, kindness and compassion.
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Equity
We equitably allocate our resources to meet the evolving needs of our diverse communities and strive toward solutions addressing systemic inequalities contributing to food insecurity.
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Community
We are committed to community-driven services rooted in trust and fueled through collaborative partnerships.
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Wellbeing
We provide access to nutritious foods, encourage healthy food choices, promote self-sufficiency and foster physical and mental wellbeing.
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Innovation
We continuously innovate, learn and refine our services in response to the needs of our communities in NW Montana.
Everyone Deserves to Eat the Rainbow
North Valley Food Bank is committed to serving all members of our community who may experience food insecurity. We believe that everyone deserves the food they need.
There is no judgment around how much customers need or should take. We believe that food is not, and should never be a privilege.
We ensure that community members have access to nutritious, colorful and diverse food. Our goal is to fill the gaps between where resources end and plates are full.
Nutrition Policy
NVFB strives to distribute foods that improve health and significantly reduce food insecurity while also creating a positive relationship with food that ensures long-term nourishment and sustainable healthy behaviors.
The foundation of a healthy lifestyle includes physical activity and consuming a balanced variety of nutrient-rich foods and beverages in moderation. Obesity, cardiovascular heart disease, and diabetes present significant health issues and consequential costs for Montanans and Americans in general. This challenge and its associated health risks have grown dramatically over the last two decades. US and Montana surveys have found that a high percentage of households served in food banks include people coping with a chronic disease that is impacted by dietary intake. People with greater food insecurities have higher rates of these diet-related conditions. This leads to recommendations for a lower salt, sugar and fat diet, which is the basis for the suggestions below.
The purpose of this nutrition guideline is to support and guide food purchasing and food donations to provide healthy foods. We abide by this guideline when we source food and will make stakeholders, namely donors, staff, volunteers, and clients, aware of our guidelines to encourage food and beverages as outlined. NVFB will prioritize purchasing items from this category and will actively seek, procure, and distribute the following foods when available:
