(graphics whooshing) - [Stan] Coming up on "Impact."

- The fact that the wages are low, people don't wanna work in this field anymore.

- [Stan] When childcare centers can't find workers, parents can't find childcare.

We'll show you what one partnership in Dillon is doing about it.

(graphics whooshing) And a new bill promises to help hungry Montanans with locally sourced food.

As we found in Hardin, the need is great.

- I started in 2018, we were seeing roughly a hundred households per month, and now we're at closer to 600 households per month.

(graphics whooshing) - [Stan] That's next on "Impact."

(pensive music) - [Announcer] Production of "Impact" is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust, investing in people, places, and opportunities in our region, online at ottobremer.org, the Greater Montana Foundation, encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans, and viewers like you, who are friends of Montana PBS.

Thank you.

(graphics whooshing) - Welcome to "Impact" from Montana PBS Reports, our new series featuring in-depth reporting on issues of importance to Montanans.

I'm Stan Parker.

Montana parents have long struggled with a childcare market that hasn't kept up with the growing need for it.

The strain falls hardest on families with young children, but it echoes through the entire economy.

With pandemic relief measures coming to an end, things now could get even tougher.

Montana PBS' Joe Lesar met with parents, providers, and advocates to explore a promising new approach.

(graphics whooshing) - [Brian] Should we play a little song?

- It's like a little verse.

- More songs.

(guitar twanging) - More songs?

- No.

- Oh.

- [Joe] It's a Saturday morning in Helena, and Caitlin Jensen and her husband, Brian Murphy, are priming their two-year-old son, Liam, for his big break in the music industry.

- [Brian] Let's see your skills.

- [Joe] This kid's got prospects, though.

Perhaps a career as a pilot?

(Brian laughs) - I'm fast!

- [Brian] Blast off!

- [Joe] Liam has time to figure it out, but something that many parents in Montana are struggling to figure out is how to find affordable, quality childcare for their children before they go to public school.

- That tickles.

- [Joe] Caitlin lives this reality at home, but she also lives it as a professional.

Caitlin is the executive director of Zero to Five Montana, a statewide organization with the mission of bringing together community leaders and state organizations to address childcare concerns.

Operating in one of six states without publicly funded preschool and daycare, the work of organizations like Zero to Five is critical to help fill in the gaps in a system that has been plagued with challenges for years.

- You know, even before the pandemic, childcare was a really big issue, and I think a lot of people called it a crisis, and even recent statistics show that parents are paying upwards of $15,000 a year annually, so it keeps getting more and more expensive.

- [Joe] There are a lot of angles from which to look at this issue.

It affects kids, parents, and employers, and those working in the childcare industry have their own set of challenges.

According to data from the Montana Budget and Policy Center, the median wage for childcare workers in Montana was $11.19 an hour in 2021.

That fact makes it hard for childcare business owners to staff and run their facilities.

- [Caitlin] As we know, a lot of people go into this field not because they have a love for running a business or opening a business, because they have a love for kids.

- [Joe] Among the many resources and programs that Zero to Five provides, one called the Montana Child Care Business Connect is aimed at providing support to childcare business owners.

Thanks to some funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the program launched last year.

- We were able to hire someone in, who comes from the small business development center world and in economic development, and so he's actually working right now one-on-one with several childcare providers across the state.

- [Joe] Caitlin says a key component of this program is still being developed.

This fall, they'll be unveiling an online cost-of-care tool for childcare business owners.

- [Caitlin] So that will give us a really good idea of what it actually costs to run a business, which we're hopeful that will also aid in our state and our policymakers having a better understanding of the true cost of care.

- [Joe] Caitlin is excited to see what this program can build into.

She's hopeful it will be able to help providers, like Sheryl Hutzenbiler, owner of Munchkin Land Daycare in Billings.

- We'll put it together.

- [Joe] While Sheryl is inside with the twin two-year-olds she cares for, the rest of the kids are outside, eagerly awaiting a special weekly visitor.

- [Child] Garbage!

Garbage truck!

(truck roars and hisses) - [Joe] Munchkin Land is an engaging place for the kids that come here.

(child chanting) (metal tapping) The facility is one of 18 in the state that's rated five stars by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services' voluntary quality and improvement system, the highest rating.

Sheryl cares for ages 0 to 12, children with developmental delays, and is open 12 hours a day, from six to six.

She supports her families in other ways too, connecting them to resources, experts, and helps parents manage challenging behaviors.

- And now it's also time to move on to our next thing, which is snack, okay?

All right?

- [Joe] And while it's mostly fun and games for children in daycare, the same can't be said for Sheryl, her employees, and childcare providers across the state.

- We have providers that leave the field because they can't make a living.

The fact that the wages are low, people don't wanna work in this field anymore.

- In the the face of low wages, Sheryl strives to support her two full-time and one part-time employees in other ways.

She provides bonuses when she can, she pays for classes and certification courses, and she used COVID relief money to offer insurance.

- Thanks.

- You're so welcome.

- Alexa.

- [Child] Where does it go?

- [Joe] Retaining staff is critical.

Losing employees means reducing hours or reducing her amount of children, and with that, her bottom line comes down.

- Or did Finley drop it because Finley was looking for a Beano too, and I see that you have one too.

- [Joe] Sheryl lucked out when Macie Buckingham came onboard four years ago.

She left a job in fast food and decided to give childcare a try.

- Jeremy, what'd you have for dinner last night?

And when I first came, like, I walked through the door, and all the kids were like, "Oh, hi!"

And like I fit right in, and so it was perfect, I just fell right into it, it was great.

- [Joe] Macy is Munchkin Land's lead teacher.

Thanks to Sheryl's help paying for certifications, she's only two college courses away from an associate's degree.

She loves this work, but is on the fence about a long-term career in childcare.

- I would love to further my education if it was a job that I felt like I could do my whole life and not have to choose later, like 10 years down the road when I have my own family, like, can I use this, or do I have to go back and work at McDonald's because I just need to make money?

- [Child] Yes, Bobby's fine.

- [Joe] And with the legislature in session, debates about how to address these issues from the state level are taking place.

Last Friday at the Capitol, Zero to Five hosted the "Have a Heart for Kids" event.

Legislators were invited to lunch to hear from sponsors of several key bills pertaining to early childhood issues.

One such bill is aimed at retaining several changes to the state's Best Beginnings scholarship, which helps low-income families pay for childcare.

Federal pandemic relief expanded eligibility and capped copays at $10 a month.

At the start of 2023, those funds expired, and copays for some low-income families have gone up to as high as $600 a month.

- The bill is in response to the pandemic changes ending but also just in recognition that the state really hasn't invested in childcare very much over the last 30 years, and we know there is a real need out there.

- [Joe] The governor's budget includes a $1,200 annual tax credit for kids under six.

Households making more than $50,000 a year would not be eligible.

Democrats are saying that this doesn't go far enough.

Also last Friday, a meeting was held in the governor's office to discuss ideas and share stories.

- Last summer, I stepped away from my role as director with Early Childhood Coalition because I didn't have childcare.

- [Joe] That's Callie Triller.

Since moving to Dillon four years ago, she's become involved with some incredible work currently happening in Beaverhead County.

Through a series of grants set up by Zero to Five in the state, the Early Childhood Coalition, UM Western, and Canvas Early Learning Center are honing their relationships in an effort to provide better childcare options for families in Dillon.

- And some things that we realized and learned were that, in Beaverhead County, if you don't work a full-time, nine-to-five job, childcare is really tricky.

- [Joe] 70% of children in Montana have both or their single parent in the workforce.

That's 32,000 people who might come to the decision that they need to leave their jobs because they can't find or afford childcare.

- You know, as jobs become more available, they need a workforce, and there's a limited workforce if there isn't adequate childcare.

- [Joe] The $1 million grant from the state is being put towards bolstering the relationship between UM Western and Canvas, a local childcare facility.

Soon they'll be able to expand to hours outside of the normal workday, provide infant care, and open an additional facility.

Anneliese Ripley, with UM Western, says the partnership will make the already strong early education program at Western even stronger.

- It's not all theoretical to them.

They're getting a lot of hands-on experience working with very young infants, toddlers, and children.

- [Joe] Students studying early education at Western get to spend a lot of time with the kids of Beaverhead County.

- Here's another king.

- [Joe] Sophomore Kortni Baker is at Canvas regularly, both for school and as a part-time employee.

She switched from elementary education to early childhood after gaining experience at Canvas.

- So that really inspired me.

I also feel like children are very underestimated, so it's good to be, it feels good to be an advocate for them and help them out and show others what children can actually do.

- [Joe] In the face of the difficulties of our childcare system, Kortni, who is the daughter of a single parent, an elementary school teacher, is forging ahead toward her goal of becoming a part of the next generation of childcare providers.

- Forward and then backward.

I think the wages and the school issues or whatever is going on, no matter what, really, the inspiration behind being a teacher is the kids, and that's what it's all about.

- [Joe] The children of Beaverhead County, or wherever Western students move after graduating, will be in the hands of experienced young professionals, thanks to this community-based partnership that is playing out not only in Dillon but in several other communities across the state.

- Because we know that parents are better when kids are better, we know that businesses are better when families are healthy, right?

And all of it feeds each other.

- [Joe] The people who work in this field do so out of pure passion.

Callie and Caitlin shared their stories about the difficulties of navigating childcare.

Callie formed the Early Childhood Coalition in Dillon after going through the process of having a child in a childcare desert, and now, here she is, kids in tow at the Capitol, working to invoke change.

And for Caitlin and Brian, they are just one example of a couple that had to make the tough decision to cut back to a single salary.

Brian left his job when Liam was born.

He knows he's lucky to be in a strong marriage, have family support, and now a stable income, but Brian brought up the fact that not all parents are as fortunate as he is.

- Whoa.

- His decision to leave his job was done so in the spirit of helping not only his family, but others as well.

- And then it was kind of a judgment call too of just really wanting to support the work that my wife does kind of in the early childhood field, knowing that, you know, her work is making a big impact for families and children.

- [Joe] Luckily for Liam, he's in the 99th percentile of his age for height.

- Whoa, oh.

- [Joe] So if his career as a musician or a pilot doesn't pan out, it'll be the NBA for him.

- [Brian] Oh!

Yeah!

- [Joe] Liam has years to work on his offhand shooting and his fast break game, but for now, being the ball appears to be what brings him a love of the game.

(everyone laughing) - [Caitlin] He's like you, so.

- [Joe] Experts in the early education world say that addressing this issue in a substantial way will have wide-ranging positive effects in our society.

Until then, parents will continue to face struggles.

- It's a reality that our country is gonna have to grapple with in a big way at some point, and I don't know if our legislators are quite there or if our world is quite there.

- [Joe] For "Impact," I'm Joe Lesar.

- In addition to the grant we profiled, 29 others were awarded to communities across the state, with amounts ranging from $140,000 to $1 million.

Seven of those proposals include plans for the same cross-sector approach as in Dillon.

That money is intended for use by September of 2024.

Well, skyrocketing food prices continue to wear down everyone's wallets, especially the estimated one in 10 Montanans who struggle with food insecurity.

Montana PBS' AJ Williams takes us to Hardin to learn more about how they're keeping their communities fed, and then to Helena, to explore a bill that could aid in long-term, local food resiliency.

(graphics whooshing) (cargo scratching) - [Elle] Thank you.

- [AJ] Helping Hands Food Bank staff and board members prepare to distribute monthly grocery boxes to households in and around Big Horn County.

- The pallet just goes in, right?

- [Elle] No, I wish.

- No, okay.

- [Elle] Need to load 'em, load 'em.

- [AJ] Even an hour before they open, cars begin to line up for distribution, and they've come to expect between dozens to over 100 cars.

Picking up one of these boxes today is Ellen Hill, who comes through the line to procure food to feed her extended family who's staying with her.

Hill says she doesn't come that often because she knows how needed the resources are by others in her community.

- Now I'm really thankful for the food bank because, you know, my sister-in-law lost her home, and, right now, I'm helping them, I'm opening up my house, even though I don't have no running water.

- [AJ] Hill's household is one of the 160 the food bank will serve this week.

While she had a 20-minute drive over from nearby Garryowen, staff say some of the clients have to drive over two hours to Helping Hands.

- It's pretty hard, you know, but the thing about it is that we gotta do what we gotta do.

We'll be needing whatever they give us, so, and then whatever I don't need, I give it to one of the grandmas that really need it too, so that's where I am.

- [AJ] Located in Hardin, nearby the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, Helping Hands Food Bank is one of the only food resources in Big Horn County.

These days, Helping Hands distributes roughly 8,000 pounds of food per week, sometimes double that.

- When I started in 2018, we were seeing roughly a hundred households per month.

During COVID, we saw that increase to 300 households per month, and now we're at closer to 600 households per month.

We were expecting things to taper off.

It's only exploded further.

- [AJ] And that explosion brings a lot of problems with it.

Helping Hands staff has had to double their hours and food supply to keep up with the community need without doubling their workforce and maintenance budget that's necessary for endurance.

- It's been exhausting, quite frankly, and we have a ton of support in the community in terms of donations, in terms of volunteers, but we weren't prepared for this.

Put the senior boxes in there, or nope.

- [AJ] And it's not just happening in Hardin.

Just as state and federal COVID relief dollars began to roll back in 2021, households were hit with rapidly climbing inflation rates.

In 2022 alone, food prices rose nearly 12% across the US.

Despite being a state known for its agricultural and beef production, over half of Montana's counties are food deserts, meaning more than a third of residents travel over 10 miles to their nearest grocery store.

Big Horn County, unfortunately, makes that cut.

In 2019, a centrally located grocery store in Crow Agency burned down, making food access more scarce.

Now, grocery stores in Big Horn are 30 to 50 miles between each other.

- And it's presented a lot of challenges in our community to be able to get just groceries in general, and a lot of our community members in Crow Agency have to drive into Hardin and then into Billings, even, for bigger items.

- [AJ] Between barriers of time and transportation, alongside scarcity and inflation driving up totals at local checkouts, Helping Hands Food Bank has become a much more depended-on community resource.

- It's tough, we have a lot of customers, a lot of families, a lot of individuals coming to the food bank, who haven't been here ever before.

Some people will argue that food banks create a dependency on either help or food.

It's really hard to be in a hard space.

It's hard to have a looming medical bill.

It's hard to not have gas in the car, and so, to be able to face those things, we're just trying to give a little bit of help here and there.

So to start with, let me show you how... - [AJ] Ross says that the majority of Helping Hands budget goes toward paying for their three food box programs.

Through funding from federal and state grants, as well as donations, they now spend $15,000 per month to feed community members in need, nearly double what they were spending just last year.

- Food banks and food pantries have a huge purchasing power, and that's purchasing from the Montana Food Bank Network, that's purchasing from our IGA, local grocery store, from local meat producers.

Some local beef from Messer and treats up there.

We think that there's a lot more opportunity that those dollars can stay within our community.

- [AJ] Because Helping Hands plays a critical role in local food access in the area, Ross says that they see what they're able to provide as a factor in overall community health.

- Something that's become increasingly important to our organization is the equity of food, of nutrition.

We need to work in respect and a lot of things that food banks may not have had when they first started.

- [AJ] Helping Hands has a goal of providing more local, nutritious foods, as well as choices to their clients.

- [Client] Ramrod things back here when- - [Elle] Yeah.

- And- - We'll get to that point.

- [AJ] Ross says that they're able to provide a variety of local proteins and produce when grants and donations come through, and there may be more support on the horizon.

Currently, Helping Hands purchases 70 to 80% of their food from the Montana Food Bank Network, located on the other side of the state in Missoula.

MFBN serves as Montana's only statewide food bank and distributes to all 56 counties in partnership with Feeding America, a national nonprofit food bank network.

- Yeah, so we partner with a variety of service providers in local communities throughout the state, everyone from food pantries and senior centers to entire school districts, to provide food at the local level directly to folks who are visiting those services and looking for a little bit of assistance.

- [AJ] MFBN also holds the contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to distribute free USDA commodity foods through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as TEFAP.

There are many challenges, between weather and efficiency and distributing pallets by truck every six weeks to the 340 food banks they serve across the state, many of which depend on MFBN for the majority of the food they distribute to their neighbors.

- We have to cross a mountain pass no matter what direction we drive.

(chuckles) So that does present some challenges in moving food across the state.

Oftentimes, the food that we receive is coming up through Billings and then backtracks across I-90 to Missoula, which then we reload and backtrack, you know, to other locations.

- [AJ] Montana Food Bank Network plays a critical role in keeping Montana fed, but even with their help, they recognize there needs to be more local food supply, especially within rural communities like Hardin.

- If our food banks and food pantries have money to spend in their, you know, on local food, that will enable them to make those connections, whereas, right now, their food budgets are almost entirely for just the staples, right?

And trying to make sure that they keep food on the shelves.

- [AJ] To achieve these long-term goals, Montana Food Bank Network works with leaders and legislators to try to draft policies that address Montana hunger.

- And being in Montana with a strong agricultural economy and just a strong commitment to our farmers and ranchers, we thought, maybe there's an opportunity, policy-wise, to better bring together those who are producing food in our state and all of the food pantries across the ground who are helping to distribute food and connect lower-income Montanans to food resources.

- [AJ] Ross agrees.

She's observed that growing desire for local foods in those she served, and went to Helena on January 24th to speak as a proponent of the Farm to Food Bank grant program bill.

- R-O-S-S.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity today to speak in support of House Bill 276.

- [AJ] Sponsored by Republican representative, Marty Malone, the bill would create a $1 million grant fund to be administered by the Department of Agriculture, that food banks could then apply for.

The food banks would use that grant funding to purchase products from local producers and further distribution of local goods to smaller food pantries and shelves nearby.

- The food banks are needed throughout the state.

We have a lot of producers, big, small, medium, that are looking for that niche they can sell locally.

- [AJ] Representative Malone also thinks that the Farm to Food Bank grant program bill would be an apt fiscal solution that takes care of all of our neighbors.

- On the other end is the recipients of the food banks, and I think we gotta keep track, keep care of the people that are hungry, and that's the important part, and we need to give back to the people that need it.

- [AJ] According to fellow agriculture committee member, Democratic representative, Melissa Romano, $1 million is a great start to fund this program.

Romano also says we may have more bills that also address Montana hunger from this session.

The bill had zero opponents give comment in the committee hearing.

However, Malone says that there could be pushback on the $1 million amount once the bill reaches the appropriations committee.

To Big Horn County Farmer, Evan Van Order, owner of Living Root Farm, the grant program could alleviate the financial burden of increased input costs for farmers and ranchers like himself.

- I think it's a great opportunity to give them more opportunities to diversify where they're marketing their product, and it really would help bring resilience to communities as a whole, economically, but also socially and health-wise too for our local families, so.

- [AJ] Living Root Farm already works with Ross to supply food to Helping Hands, and they'd be excited to expand the collaboration should Helping Hands be awarded a Farm to Food Bank grant.

Back at Helping Hands, volunteers create boxes for each car that stops by.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and winter temps, Ross checks in carside with each client.

- How many in the house?

- [AJ] Ross says household numbers often range from 1 to 17.

- All right, I'll be right back with that, okay?

- [AJ] As the USDA commodity food truck pulls up for a misscheduled delivery during box distribution, the Helping Hands volunteer team follows their normal protocol, roll with the punches and help with their hands.

Without missing a beat, they chip out a path with gardening tools for the pallet jack to scrape on by.

(pallet jack clunking) Ross is glad that they've received more to offer their community for the next month and a half, and hopes that within two to three years, 50% of what they're able to offer isn't coming from across the world by way of a long-distance truck route, but from their neighbors in Big Horn County.

- Well, to reinvest that and keep that money in Montana, and going to farmers and ranchers who may be in our line if something goes terribly wrong.

- [AJ] Ross says that, ultimately, Farm to Food Bank isn't the only solution and can't be, but it's a great one and a great start.

- Thursday, next Thursday, yeah, we'll definitely have 'em.

All right, thanks, take care.

(car door thumps) - [AJ] She adds that Helping Hands will continue to lend a hand in supporting efforts that create equitable food systems, not just in their community, but throughout Montana.

For "Impact," I'm AJ Williams.

- The Food to Farm Bank grant act bill is currently being amended in committee and will soon head to the floor for a second reading.

Experts believe the house is likely to advance the bill, after which, it will face the appropriations committee.

(pensive music) Well, that's it for this episode.

On the next "Impact," lawmakers weigh big reforms to the way Montana handles abuse and neglect cases, and changes are on the horizon at Colstrip.

Could those changes include a new generation of nuclear power?

(graphics whooshing) From all of us here at Montana PBS, thanks for joining us.

I'm Stan Parker.

We'll see you next time.

(pensive music) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) - [Announcer] Production of "Impact" is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust, investing in people, places, and opportunities in our region, online at ottobremer.org, the Greater Montana Foundation, encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans, and viewers like you, who are friends of Montana PBS.

Thank you.

(graphics whooshing) (bright music)