Feed the Future - The Hunger Coalition

The Hunger Coalition is renovating a building where together, we will build a bold, new solution to hunger. We’re moving across the street from our current headquarters to a 13,000 sf building on four acres; a place where people from all walks of life can enjoy a fresh approach to food security. Despite drastic changes to our operations since the COVID-19 outbreak, we’re thrilled to announce that renovations began on schedule in early May.

Why Bloom Community Food Center?

There was a food crisis in Blaine County well before COVID-19 hit town. Our friends and neighbors were wracked with the eighth highest food costs in the nation*, a lack of affordable housing, and wages that have not kept pace with living expenses. Before the pandemic hit, The Hunger Coalition was providing food for 1 in 6 local people. Things were already hard before COVID-19 came to town and made life that much harder.

The Hunger Coalition is now feeding nearly three times as many families and distributing three times as much food through our curbside food pantry. The pandemic broke people holding on by a thread and reinforced how badly we need a change.

To more fully answer the needs of our community, Bloom Community Food Center will include…

• A Community Kitchen & Dining Area
• Next Gen Food Pantry
• Year-round Greenhouses & Raised Bed Gardens
• A Dedicated Community Partner Space
• Bloom Community Farm Expansion

Instead of handing out apples, let’s plant an orchard.

It is written into our mission to address the root causes of hunger. To continue to give out food without going deeper would betray our purpose. It’s time we retire the band-aid approach in favor of something truly healing.

*As reported by Feeding America in May of 2020, Blaine County now has the fifth highest food costs in the nation.

Where we’ve been

Click here to watch the full video with stories from Jeff, Tania, and Vicky.

Where we’re going

Bloom Community Food Center will be a place of pride. It will encourage health and human connection through growing, cooking, and sharing food. While we will continue to provide emergency food for people in crisis, there will be a greater variety of access options to answer the diverse needs of our community.

Much of our inspiration for these changes has come from a successful model in Canada. Watch this short video from our mentors to envision where we’re headed.