The Generosity of Sweet Grass County
Only days before school commenced for the 2024 – 2025 school year, the superintendents of Sweet Grass County High School and Big Timber Grade School had to deliver the news that the hot lunch program would not be available.
“It was just two days before school started and we didn’t have a kitchen staff,” Big Timber Grade School Superintendent Mark Ketcham said. “We had to let the parents know and were bracing ourselves for negative backlash and phone calls, but, amazingly, the exact opposite happened. People asked, ‘how do we help?’.”
Corey Austin, Superintendent of Sweet Grass County High School, agreed.
“Delivering bad news is never enjoyable,” he said. “But we live in a community of ‘can do spirits.’”
When news reached Brooke Metcalf, mother of three students in the school system and owner of a local business, she knew she had to do something, and she wasn’t alone. Frantic parents, frustrated students, and concerned community members quickly began gathering resources.
“We’re going to feed those kids,” Brooke said to her mom. “We have enough to share.”
Brooke and her mother, Susan Metcalf, own Crazy Peak Boutique, a gift shop and café, and the duo were determined to let no child go hungry.
“With it being so close to school starting, I knew many of the families wouldn’t have room in their budget for buying or even packing lunches,” Brooke explained.
Susan, who is also the Superintendent of Sweet Grass County Schools, agreed, adding that a relatively large percentage of Sweet Grass County students are from single parent households and/or lower income families and depend on the free and reduced-priced meals.
For the first few days of school, the After School Club prepared sack lunches for the students. During summer, the Club feeds around 45 kids daily, Monday through Friday, so director Jen Flategraff didn’t miss a beat expanding and continuing the program for the first week of school.
By then, Brooke and Susan were prepared.
“We didn’t know how many we would be feeding, or what it would cost. We just put lunches together and hoped for the best,” Susan said. “We all know kids perform better in school when they aren’t worried about being hungry and it was the intention of everyone to make sure every student was fed.”
For the next month, over 100 students received healthy lunches delivered to the two schools each day. As donations started pouring in, the mother-daughter team began offering hot lunches as well and many high school students frequented their café on McLeod Street during lunch break.
“We were amazed by the love that was shown to our students. We couldn’t have done it without the generosity of so many. We really didn’t know how it would work, but thanks to this wonderful community we accomplished it.”
“We were amazed by the love that was shown to our students,” Susan said. “We couldn't have done it without the generosity of so many. We really didn’t know how it would work, but thanks to this wonderful community we accomplished it.”
Financial donations, which were matched by the owners of the Timber Bar, Tammi and Scott Baird, helped tremendously. Other businesses also donated large amounts, but most of the money came from local residents who were determined to feed the students until the kitchen was fully staffed and operational.
“It was such a relief to not have to worry about the kids getting fed,” Mr. Ketcham said. “All I had to do was provide the number of lunches we’d need for the day and lunch showed up.”
From a student barbeque hosted by Sky Federal Credit Union to a silent auction at Crazy Peak Boutique, the town rallied as the search continued for staff, with even the smallest donations making a difference. Finally, over a month after school started, a full kitchen staff was hired and the lunch program resumed.
“The way this community galvanized was incredible,” Mr. Ketchum continued. “They were on it within hours and didn’t give up until we had a solution.”
“I’m very thankful for Big Timber,” Mr. Austin added. “The outpouring of support and solution sharing from parents and business owners to faith-based groups and members of the community – we all pulled together to ensure the kids were fed.”