Serrano’s hosts fundraiser for FAST Blackfeet
Serrano’s Mexican restaurant in East Glacier is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, September 21, to combat food insecurity and promote food sovereignty on the Blackfeet Reservation.
At the Roots and Resilience fundraiser, attendees can enjoy locally sourced meats, cheeses and dried fruits, a bison roast and desserts. Attendees can also participate in a live auction and win items such as a painted buffalo skull, woodwork, indigenous artwork and more. Dylan Running Crane will also perform live music.
Scott Bullard, a CDL driver and warehouse worker with the Montana Food Bank Network, rolls and loads pallets full of food to be delivered to FAST Blackfeet in Browning, a local nonprofit working to end food insecurity on the reservation, and the Flathead Food Bank in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The network is holding a groundbreaking for its new warehouse and office space in Missoula on Thursday.
ANTONIO IBARRA OLIVARES, Missoulian
Tickets are $100 each and 100% of the proceeds go to FAST Blackfeet, a nonprofit organization working to improve food security on the reservation.
Iris Sharp, deputy director of FAST Blackfeet, said the organization’s recent survey found that more than half of reservation residents suffer from year-round food insecurity, meaning they do not have daily access to healthy food.
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There are two major grocery stores in Browning: Glacier Family Foods and Teeple’s IGA. Sharp said the food sold at both stores is unaffordable for many. For people living in remote communities on the reservation, such as East Glacier, Starr School or Seville, it’s even harder to get healthy food, she said.
FAST Blackfeet promotes food security through its Ō’yō’·ṗ’ food bank, which distributes traditional and culturally relevant healthy foods throughout the reservation. Sharp said the food bank generally serves about 400 families per week. The nonprofit’s newest program, Growing Health, helps community members grow their own tea and vegetables, promoting food sovereignty. FAST Blackfeet also offers cooking classes and diabetes prevention education.
An example of a fresh produce voucher issued by the FAST Blackfeet produce prescription program. FAST, which stands for Food Access and Sustainability Team, provides vouchers to people who are sick or lack safe access to food on the Blackfeet reservation.
FAST BLACK FEET
The nonprofit has worked with Serrano’s in the past. Sharp said this year’s fundraiser will “help us maintain all of our services.”
“Last year, the same event helped us keep our Growing Health program running year-round,” she said. “This time, the funds will fill gaps, whether it’s purchasing food for our food bank, materials for our Growing Health program, or resources for our educational programs.”
