Recognizing Peggy White Well Known Buffalo and Susan Kelly of Garryowen

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GIANFORTE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Peggy White Well Known Buffalo and Susan Kelly of Garryowen for their work to fight hunger in their community.

In 1999, Peggy and Susan launched the Center Pole Foundation, a Native grassroots organization that promotes knowledge, justice, and sovereignty in Native communities. The foundation seeks to serve the needs of the community, including hunger within the Crow Indian Reservation.

As part of the foundation, Peggy and Susan created a community food bank which serves not only the reservation but also the surrounding community.

Their mission to fulfill a fundamental need, such as nourishment, is personal for Peggy and Susan.

For Peggy, confronting hunger began when she attended a boarding school. There, she experienced hunger and made it a life mission to feed people in a loving and kind environment.

For Susan, she has seen firsthand how hunger impedes a child's progress. Wanting every kid to do well in school, Susan says a kid can't be creative if his or her stomach isn't full.

Each week, the food bank's staff goes to Billings to collect food from grocery stores. Their efforts provide food to the reservation and surrounding communities, feeding more than 300 people a week.

To Peggy and Susan, their work is about more than providing people with food. It's about providing their community nourishment, boosting its health, helping combat illness, and reinforcing the benefits of a healthy, positive lifestyle. Their commitment to the future of their communities is front and center of all they do through Center Pole Foundation.

Madam Speaker, for their dedicated work to fight hunger in their community, I recognize Peggy White Well Known Buffalo and Susan Kelly of Garryowen for their Spirit of Montana.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source