WYO HELP provides gift cards to help with food insecurity

Local grocery stores in Crook County will soon have the opportunity to receive gift cards from WYO HELP that can be used to assist with food insecurity, a donation made possible through the COVID-19 Health Disparity Grant Program.

WYO HELP has been awarded $122,000 through the Addressing Basic Needs and Social Determinants of Health section of the program, which is managed by the Align Team.

The grant comes from the $8.1 million dedicated by Wyoming to building up healthcare infrastructure and addressing historical inequities in our communities. This, in turn, came from the state’s $38.8 million allocation from the Centers for Disease Control’s COVID-19 Health Disparities Grant.

In Crook County, WYO HELP intends to use this grant award to provide a limited amount of gift cards to a local grocery store for qualified candidates.

The same will be done in Niobrara, Washakie and Weston counties. In Carbon and Goshen counties, meanwhile, WYO HELP will provide gift cards and is also working to open a new food pantry in Rawlins, and will use the grant to purchase equipment to store and display food and purchase food to open the pantry and to restock shelves in the Torrington food pantry.