Montana food pantries grapple with demand increases and a bumpy economy

Montana food pantries grapple with demand increases and a bumpy economy

Colorful cans and boxes of food lined the shelves of the Arlee Community Development Corporation food pantry on a recent summer morning. Pantry workers, including program manager Donna Mollica, had stocked the day before, in preparation for a new week of distribution.Though the shelves were full that morning, these days, Mollica says they don’t stay that way for long. The Arlee pantry usually has enough food on hand for 30 families per week. But demand doubled in April.’So we were taken by surprise, and we ran out of food,’ Mollica says.