Missoula commissioners chew on food access, agricultural issues

One item before commissioners Juanita Vero and Dave Strohmaier concerned Corner Farm Village, an organic farm currently operating in the Orchard Homes neighborhood. In order to make the business viable year-round, the farm’s backers asked the commissioners to approve a variance allowing for an agriculture-related business on the property.

Vero and Strohmaier unanimously agreed to the request.

“This looks like a super-creative project that melds commercial, residential and agricultural uses and will hopefully be a model for how all of these can work together throughout our county,” said Strohmaier.

According to County Planner Jennie Dixon, the onsite business would entertain the following prospective uses:

• A food and/or beverage establishment
• A research, cooperative and/or training facility
• Galleries and/or exhibition space
• Agricultural manufacturing and production (excluding cannabis products)
• Artisan manufacturing and production
• Farm stand/market, retail store
• Up to six outdoor special events per year

The multi-purpose business facility would be capped at a maximum of 2,500 square feet.

“In these ways, the project goal is ultimately to create a community space oriented around the farm, local produce and prepared healthy food,” said Jamie Erbacher with WGM Group, the applicant’s agent.

The commissioners also heard from Claire Battaglia, vice chair of the Missoula Food Policy Advisory Board, about its Rapid Community Food Assessment.

The assessment was administered via email and social media outreach from Oct. 26, 2022 to Nov. 23, 2022; 349 participants in Missoula County responded to the survey, 7% fewer than the first time the assessment went out last year.

Respondents were mostly concentrated in age groups 25 to 40 and 60 to 65, living in two- or one-person households, with an average income between $50,000 and $99,000 or below $25,000. Most are not enrolled in nutrition assistance programs; 74% live within the city limits.

Battaglia stressed the survey was not representative of the whole Missoula community, and the board hopes in the future to have a budget that would support a more representative survey method.

Nonetheless, the survey yielded various observations about the food system in Missoula County.

For instance, respondents indicated they can’t access the food they want primarily because of the cost, the time involved in shopping and preparing meals and the lack of certain products at local stores.

They also said they shop primarily at local grocery stores, followed by chain stores, farmer’s markets and directly from farmers.

Also, 174 people said they eat out once or twice per month; 105 indicated they eat out once or twice per week; 31 eat out more than twice a week, and 36 said they never go out to eat.

More people avoid composting than those who compost, but responses were relatively even, which Battaglia considered encouraging.

“Most people considered food access to be the most important issue,” Battaglia noted. However, respondents put protecting natural resources and agricultural land as their top policy priorities, ahead of food access.

Based on responses to the survey, Battaglia said: “I think that the interest in the community is there for just kind of building momentum around food system issues.”