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.
Catie DeMets, MS
Email: catie@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (406) 926-1004
Catie’s work at CFAC focuses on supporting beginning farmers and ranchers by providing technical assistance and connecting them with resources they need to succeed. A native Wisconsinite, Catie has long been enamored with local food and agriculture, which she explored while completing her B.A. in Geology and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University.
Post-undergrad, she lived around Italy and the US to learn the ins and outs of the food system, working her way through research universities, farms, kitchens, and restaurants before landing in the Environmental Studies Master’s program at the University of Montana. There, she researched tools for building a sustainable, equitable food system while developing a business plan for her own farm-based business.
Catie is deeply invested in western Montana’s food system and is excited to bring her experience, love of helping and teaching people, and passion for building a sustainable agricultural future to CFAC.
Claire Kervran
Email: claire@missoulacfac.org
Phone: (406)926-1004
Claire serves as an AmeriCorps VISTA member to help build capacity within CFAC’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher program. Her work will contribute to development of the Farm Link program throughout Montana.
Her engagement in food systems began after college while working at Pike Place Market in her hometown, Seattle. This influenced her to start working on local farms and continue studies with a Master’s in Agriculture Policy at Vermont Law School.
Her passion for community service and farming has led her to a second term with AmeriCorps, and an exciting year with CFAC. She hopes to create sustainable connections with the community, engage in local food systems, and expand opportunities for new farmers and ranchers in Montana.
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.
