The parking lot at the Gallatin County Food Bank was full Thursday. Inside, children darted through the aisles, reaching for boxes of cereal and pasta. Three of those children belonged to Amy Howell and her husband, John. John works as a delivery driver, and Amy takes care of the kids. They come to the food bank when his paycheck runs out. “We’d be screwed if we didn’t have this,” John said. “We can have electricity in the house and we can eat.”

The family is one of approximately 44,000 households in Montana that are “food insecure,” meaning they must make changes in the quality or quantity of their food to stay afloat. Nearly 18,000 more Montana families have been dubbed “very food insecure.” “In the past they called that hunger,” said Kate Bradford, advocacy director for the Montana Food Bank Network. “We’re calling that hunger, still.” Food banks across the state are seeing more families coming through their doors this year.

The Headwaters Area Food Bank in Three Forks has seen a 40 to 50 percent increase in the number of clients since 2007. The food bank in Bozeman has seen a 43 percent jump. The problem is, food banks are simultaneously seeing less food on the shelves. “Food-bank donations this year are down 13 percent from last year,” Bradford said. “That’s a significant concern because the cost of food is so much.” The Three Forks community has been supportive, warehouse manager Kristen Brock said. Churches and food drives contribute regularly. But it’s tough to keep up with an increasing flow of people who need help, she said. “We haven’t seen an increase equal to the amount of clients coming in,” Brock said.

Many of the food banks’ clients are families and seniors who live on fixed incomes, she said. Many others have jobs, but it’s tough to juggle rent and the rising costs of heating and gas, especially in Montana, where wages remain lower than the national average, Bradford said. Some clients make too much money to qualify for food stamps, but many eligible Montanans don’t even apply. Only about 61 percent of those who qualify participate in the food-stamp program. “People wait until they’re desperate to come in to apply,” said Deb Pingrey of the Office of Public Assistance for Gallatin and Madison counties. “Montanans in general are very proud people, so they hold off as long as they can.”

To increase the participation, two federal grants are funding outreach in Montana, Bradford said. The Office of Public Assistance, Montana Food Bank Network and others are fanning out to distribute food-stamp applications to social workers, mental health professionals and food banks.

The grants will also help cover the cost of placing computers in public places like libraries, food banks and health clinics so individuals can apply online, simplifying the process. It’s important to catch people before they fall through the cracks, Pingrey said. “It would be difficult to go to work every day if your children were hungry and you were hungry,” she said. “Food and gas, right now, are what we’re all spending our paychecks on.”

Bozeman Daily Chronical, 6/27/08 By JESSICA MAYRER Chronicle Staff Writer

Jessica Mayrer can be reached at jmayrer@daily chronicle.com or 582-2635.