VIDEO: Western Montana Growers Cooperative
- courtney990
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
The High Stakes Foundation is a proud to have been a early funder of the Western Montana Growers Cooperative. We are thrilled to share their story with you. Mary Stranahan, founder of the High Stakes Foundation, who, after retiring from medicine, was a farmer in Arlee and had firsthand knowledge of local agriculture challenges. One of her staff members, Jane Kyle, encouraged her to connect with the visionary leader, Nancy Matheson. In 2002, Mary funded a study to determine the economic impact of a growers' cooperative in Western Montana, and, based on those findings, the WMGC was founded in 2003. At Jane's encouragement, Mary also funded the WMGC's first truck.
The Western Montana Growers Cooperative (WMGC) is now a farmer-owned coalition serving the Flathead, Jocko, Mission, and Bitterroot Valleys, founded in 2003 to bring independent farms together to share resources and reach more consumers. The cooperative provides wholesale marketing and delivery services for its members, offering a wide range of Montana-grown products including fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, dairy, eggs, meats, honey, and other value-added items. WMGC now serves grocery stores, restaurants, and institutions across Montana and into Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington, and also offers a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that delivers local produce directly to individual customers throughout the region. WMGC was founded in 2003 and has since grown from nothing into a 6.6 million dollar a year business employing 24 people, serving 1100 customers (650 CSA and 450 wholesale). Other impressive stats from 2025:
38 farmers/growers
140,000 miles traveled to deliver wholesale product to customers
34 K-12 schools served by WMGC
We celebrate all the growth (both the food and the organization) of the Western Montana Growers Cooperative.
