Bonnie Buckingham, MSW
Email: bonnie@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (406) 880-0543
Bonnie is CFAC’s co-founder and Executive Director. She has over 20 years experience with food security and hunger reduction issues as Program Operations Manager of Missoula Food Bank and Director of Women’s Opportunity & Resource Development.
Throughout CFAC’s history, she has held primary responsibility for facilitating CFAC, ensuring that the work of the organization moves forward, and carrying out the fiscal and administrative oversight. Bonnie served on the steering committee of the original Community Food Assessment (2002-2004). She organized subsequent community meetings leading to the formation of CFAC in 2005 and worked to get a joint resolution passed by the City and County government sanctioning the formation of CFAC, as well as funding to start the coalition.
She has led CFAC through its strategic growth and the creation of new programs and initiatives since its inception. Bonnie initiated the Farmers Market EBT Food Stamp program in Missoula and actively participates in several state-wide coalitions associated with food security and non-profit organization and collaboration. A social worker by training, Bonnie has considerable experience with community development, strategic planning, Community-based Participatory Research, and group facilitation. She received her Masters of Social Work from the University of Montana in 2007.
Kim Gilchrist, MS
Email: kim@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (856) 912-1080
Kim focuses her work at CFAC on promoting equal access to healthy, local food. She primarily coordinates the Double SNAP Dollars program in Missoula, which provides a dollar for dollar match when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are used to purchase fresh local food from participating locations.
Kim began her professional career working in retirement plan communications after receiving her bachelor’s degree in business administration. It didn’t take too long for her to realize she wanted to become more involved in local food initiatives, so she made her way out to Missoula and earned her Masters of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana in 2014. While in school, Kim focused on sustainable food system development. Her graduate portfolio addressed the need for greater economic viability within the alternative food movement and included research about improving food access in Missoula.
Dave Renn
Email: dave@farmlinkmontana.org
Phone: (406) 926-1004
Dave’s work focuses on the development of resources, workshops, and training for new entrants into Montana agriculture. He manages the Farm Link Montana website, a centralized resource to connect beginning farmers and ranchers to land, jobs, mentors, and information. Dave received a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Oregon and spent the next decade working in education, on-farm and off-farm.
He has pursued the dream of starting his own farm through apprenticeships and staff positions on vegetable, livestock, and research operations in Oregon, Washington, and Montana. Through this process, he has experienced a wide array of educational styles and farmer training programs and is excited to bring that knowledge to CFAC. He is focused on creating meaningful opportunities for aspiring farmers to pursue their dreams in Montana.
Shay Farmer
Email: shay@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (802)735-6680
Shay’s work focuses on helping to implement the Double SNAP Dollars program and food sovereignty classes in the Mission Valley in conjunction with the Polson Farmers Market. She also provides regional technical assistance on implementing and fundraising for nutrition incentive programs at farmers markets. Shay received her bachelor’s degree in International Political Science from Arcadia University in 2009.
Prior to CFAC, Shay worked at Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center in Ronan as the Farm to Institution Program Manager, working to increase local food being served at schools, hospitals, and other public institutions through forward contracting and cooperative purchasing initiatives. She has also served many stints in various AmeriCorps programs, learning important skills in building social capital and community organizing. Shay brings her experiences to CFAC to help increase local and healthy food access to all demographics in western Montana.
Mary Ellis
Email: mary@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (406)926-1004
Mary serves as the New Farmer Programs Coordinator within CFAC’s Beginner Farmer and Rancher (BFR) Program. Mary’s work focuses on supporting various aspects of the BFR program, including managing the Farm Link Montana website and coordinating the Planning For On-Farm Success and Farmer Field Day workshops series.
Her work in food systems first began when she helped revitalize student gardens and a compost system on her college campus. This experience motivated her to move West after graduation to work on a small farm in the mountains of Washington. She then spent two years serving with AmeriCorps and FoodCorps managing small high school farms in Oregon and helping farmers sell their produce to local schools.
Interest in deepening her knowledge of sustainable farming and food systems brought Mary to the University of Montana, where she graduated with her master’s in Environmental Studies. Her master’s research focused on programs that help producers conserve wild spaces and species, while also growing food for their communities. She is excited to bring her experience with farming and education to CFAC and looks forward to supporting local farmers through CFAC’s new and established programs.
Ian Finch
Email: ian@missoulacfac.org
Phone: 406-926-1004
Ian’s work at CFAC focuses on both the Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) and Food Access (FA) programs. For the BFR program, Ian supports the planning, delivery, and evaluation of BFR events and Farm Link Montana services. On the Food Access side, Ian assists regional farmer’s markets and retail stores with implementing the Double SNAP Dollars (DSD) program, which provides a dollar for dollar match for SNAP participants when purchasing locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ian has worked to increase the sustainability and equity of Montana’s food system since moving to Missoula in 2006. After graduating from the Environmental Studies program at the University of Montana, Ian worked on farms across the northwest before directing the UM Farm to College Program, an agricultural economic development initiative building local food supply chains and educational gardens. Ian then worked as the chef at Buttercup Market & Cafe, building his knowledge of kitchen processes necessary to work with local farms. He is dedicated to using his skills from farm to table to build a better food system with CFAC.
Community Food & Agriculture Coalition
Increasing the production and consumption of Montana-grown foods, so that everyone has local food, farmers are successful, and farmland is in active production.
