{"id":257398,"date":"2025-11-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/?p=257398"},"modified":"2025-11-26T17:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T00:37:14","slug":"montana-grown-ingredients-for-your-thanksgiving-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/11\/24\/montana-grown-ingredients-for-your-thanksgiving-spread\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana-grown ingredients for your Thanksgiving spread"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With nearly 24,000 farms and ranches operating in Montana, the state\u2019s residents are pitching in to produce a wide variety of food \u2014 from beef to chickpeas \u2014 for consumers around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how often are Montanans regularly consuming locally grown products? Some local food advocates say not nearly enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so lucky in Montana to have a true abundance and plethora of foods we can eat year-round,\u201d said Erin Austin, the director of community partners and sales at Abundant Montana. The nonprofit works to promote about 1,100 food producers and businesses in the state in an effort to increase local food consumption. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Lauren
Cattle are pictured Nov. 23 in Manhattan. Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the 1950s, Austin said, about 70% of the food Montanans ate came from within the state. As of 2021, she said, that number had dwindled to 3%. The organization is trying to drive that percentage back up, in part by mapping out<\/a> where Montanans can find nearby growers and ranchers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin said it\u2019s absolutely possible to make an entire Thanksgiving meal with locally sourced ingredients, even if that means diverging from some traditional recipes. Local food may be more flavorful and nutritious because it was picked at peak ripeness, she said. Those purchases also help fuel the local economy, she added, powering up Montana\u2019s rural and home-grown communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Thanksgiving around the corner, here are five Montana-made foods that you can add to your festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PUTTING TURKEY ON THE TABLE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Montana is well-known for being cattle country, with cows still outnumbering people statewide<\/a>. The state, however, doesn\u2019t even rank in the top 13 for turkey production, according to the most recent data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, there\u2019s no real reason why your Thanksgiving spread couldn\u2019t include Montana beef (or chicken<\/a>, for that matter), but if you\u2019re on the lookout for a more traditional turkey dinner, Montana growers can help fill the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Turkey produced by Flocking Good Farms, a small poultry operation near Big Sandy. Credit:<\/span> Courtesy Flocking Good Farms<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Flocking Good Farms<\/a> near the north-central town of Big Sandy is operated by Carissa Bergren and Joe Ostrom as part of the larger Ostrom Acres farm operation. The farm touts its in-house feed<\/a> that\u2019s free from corn, soy products and GMOs and helps nurture the gaggle of chickens and turkeys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being recently featured by KRTV, a Great Falls television station, Ostrom said the farm\u2019s sales have skyrocketed, leaving only three turkeys remaining as of last week. Ostrom also credited the jump in sales for the two-year-old business to a growing awareness about locally grown food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think people are getting aware of where their food comes from, and they know it\u2019s a better quality food,\u201d Ostrom said. \u201cI\u2019ll just say that it\u2019s gone better than I ever expected.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, wild turkey hunting is also legal in Montana, as long as recreators have the proper fees and permits in place. The state has two subspecies<\/a> \u2014 Merriam\u2019s and Eastern \u2014 of turkey, though neither is native to the state. The most popular season for hunting wild gobblers is in the spring, but fall hunting is currently underway until Jan. 1. According to Montana\u2019s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, popular regions for turkey hunting include the Custer National Forest and parts of Fergus County and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP ASIDE IDAHO \u2014 MONTANA HAS POTATOES, TOO<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In a state that often flexes its exceptionalism (really big sky, full of treasure, etc.), we will admit that our neighbors to the west have some very nice potatoes. But that doesn\u2019t mean Montanans have to shop outside of the state\u2019s borders for this Thanksgiving staple. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Lauren
Root Cellar Foods delivery trucks are pictured Nov. 23 in Belgrade. The company works with Montana farmers to sell \u201cgrains, meat, dairy and value-added goods that are grown, raised and produced in Montana.\u201d Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2023, Montana had almost 12,000 acres planted for seed potatoes, roughly a third of Idaho\u2019s total acreage for the crop. The starch is so popular that the town of Manhattan, about 25 minutes west of Bozeman, hosts an annual Potato Festival<\/a> every August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One local resource for finding made-in-Montana spuds is Root Cellar Foods<\/a>. The food distributor allows for online ordering and local pickup locations and drop-off options around the Gallatin Valley. If you can\u2019t order in advance, several of the growers that work with Root Cellar Foods also advertise their own farm stands<\/a> that are open regularly with an assortment of products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PUMPKIN PIES AND SQUASH OF ALL STRIPES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although Montana also doesn\u2019t crack the list of top-10 states for pumpkin production across the country, the Thanksgiving-essential squash is bountiful at farm operations around the state. (Some growers are certainly trying to stand out in their field, so to speak, with a 1,591-pound pumpkin<\/a> breaking Montana\u2019s state record this year for largest pumpkin ever recorded.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, baking isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s area of expertise, even with high-quality local ingredients. If you\u2019re near the town of Belt, just southeast of Great Falls, the team at Ever Westward Farm is taking orders for homemade Buttermilk Cardamom Pumpkin Pie<\/a> available for pickup at its farm stand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other types of Montana-grown squash can grace your Thanksgiving tables in the form of more savory dishes, too. Butternut, acorn and delicata<\/a> are just some of the varieties of squash available from Winter Kissed Farm<\/a> in Stevensville, a farm operation that focuses on CSA distribution within the Bitterroot Valley and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LENTILS, CHICKPEAS AND GRAINS GALORE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one area of the agricultural sector where Montana shines is in its diversity of nutritious grains<\/a> grown across much of the central and eastern part of the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two crops that could provide the foundation for a Thanksgiving salad or side dish are Montana lentils and chickpeas, some of the state\u2019s most common pulse crops. A lentil salad<\/a> for the holiday can also include many other grown-in-Montana ingredients, including squash, greens and root vegetables. Cooked chickpeas can be ground down into hummus for an appetizer or featured in a heartier vegetarian side dish<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prairie Roots<\/a>, the marketing enterprise of Sather Ranch, LLC in northeast Montana, about an hour north of Glasgow, carries both chickpeas and lentils, along with an assortment of other grain products. They offer delivery to nearby towns along the Hi-Line, including Malta, Hinsdale, Glasgow, Nashua and Wolf Point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BERRIES BESIDES CRANBERRIES<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n
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Haskap berries, top, and sour pie cherries, below, sold by Apple Bar Orchard in Helena, Montana. Locally-sourced berries could be used as a substitute for cranberries in holiday meals. Credit:<\/span> Catherine McNeil\/Apple Bar Orchard<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cranberries, the accent fruit traditionally used to contrast savory poultry or stuffing, aren\u2019t very easy to produce in Montana because of its dry climate. But other berries are bountiful and ready to use in jams, syrups, sauces or baked inside pies for Thanksgiving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catherine McNeil, the former president of the Montana Berry Growers Association and the operator of Apple Bar Orchard<\/a> near Helena, is particularly fond of haskaps. The oblong, dusty blue berries are also known as honeyberries. But McNeil said many Montanans don\u2019t know about them, or how versatile they can be in cooking and baking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people have used [haskaps] with pork,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve used them with meatballs. \u2026 I\u2019ve never tried them with poultry; that\u2019s not saying I wouldn\u2019t. For sure, I think they would go great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McNeil also pointed to Township Road Farm<\/a> in Worden, just northeast of Billings, as another berry grower offering a range of products, including elderberries, currants and chokecherries, that could enhance Thanksgiving meals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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