First Lady's Office launches online resource to help families struggling with food access and insecurity during COVID-19 pandemic

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Wyoming Hunger Initiative task force recently launched an online clearinghouse to help families struggling with food access and insecurity in Wyoming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website has a county-by-county listing of resources on the Wyoming Hunger Initiative website.

“The sudden additional demand on food pantries statewide requires creative solutions, as will protecting the health of our Wyoming neighbors and friends at highest risk for contracting COVID-19,” First Lady Jennie Gordon said. “The task force focuses primarily on ensuring no child or senior goes hungry.”

In the coming days, the task force will work to establish best-practices for food storage, distribution, and delivery.

“The task force is already working with state experts to ensure the best possible protocols. Innovative partnerships between public-private entities are also being developed, and new opportunities to get involved in communities across the state will be announced in the coming days,” the First Lady said.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative launched the special COVID-19 taskforce on March 17 to provide support, streamline communications and implement creative solutions to Wyoming Hunger Initiative mission-related issues caused by COVID-19 closures statewide.

Task force members include:

First Lady Jennie Gordon

Ashley Bright, Chief Executive Officer: Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming

Elizabeth Dillow, Owner: Elizabeth Dillow LLC

Heather Fleming, Co-Founder: WY Lit

Tamra Jackson, Nutrition Supervisor: Wyoming Department of Education

Tom Lacock, Associate State Director, Communications and State Advocacy: AARP

Rita Meyer, Director of Infrastructure Investment: Rocky Mountain Power

Trista Ostrom, Chief of Staff: First Lady Jennie Gordon’s Office

Annemarie Picard, Chair: Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation

Jamie Purcell, Executive Director: Wyoming Food For Thought

Tim Sheppard, Rocky Mountain District Governor: Kiwanis

Arin Waddell, Founder & School Board Member: The Food Group, Sheridan County School District 1

Tony Woodell, Director: Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies

Thanks to generous donors and their contributions to the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, the Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation is proud to announce the first grant cycle. Any organization within the state of Wyoming whose mission aligns with the mission of the Wyoming Hunger Initiative is eligible for grants. It is the hope of the Wyoming Hunger Initiative to reinvest in Wyoming communities who are on the ground doing the work so that they can continue to work towards eliminating hunger in Wyoming. Now, more than ever, it is the hope of the First Lady to offer resources and opportunities for organizations who are working to serve our state. Grant applications can be found at http://www.nohungerwyo.org/grants.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative was launched after First Lady Jennie Gordon learned from a friend in Sheridan about children who struggled with food insecurity. The conversation sparked awareness and interest in the issue of child hunger in Wyoming that has remained with her as a pressing concern. There are grassroots efforts in every Wyoming county dedicated to reducing childhood hunger and combating food insecurity. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the Wyoming Hunger Initiative was launched in October 2019 to work to prevent food insecurity by increasing awareness and support for the work of local anti-hunger organizations statewide. The Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation Board works closely with the First Lady to ensure small projects around the facilities can be funded and also provides support for the First Lady’s Initiative. Visit http://www.nohungerwyo.org to learn more.