A collection of illuminated tail lights from idling cars surrounded the Lord’s Storehouse in Evanston, Wyoming, just after sunset on a chilly December evening. Despite the temperature, the doors of the food pantry were wide open and volunteers with Food Bank of Wyoming could be seen zipping around inside collecting items for neighbors’ food boxes.
Young parents Josh and Payge shared that the reason they come to the food pantry, which is a Hunger Relief Partner of Food Bank of Wyoming, is for their three small children. Josh works as a sales and delivery person. Payge is a cook at a school. Even with two incomes, they are struggling to make ends meet. They usually collect a food box at least once a week.
“Protein is definitely way expensive. We can barely afford it,” Payge said, adding that what they most look forward to receiving are chicken, ground beef, and eggs. She plans meals carefully to make the food last, and the money they save by coming to the pantry goes toward paying for essentials like rent and utility bills.
Michelle is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair to get around, but she lives independently and does her best to manage on her own. An avid foodie, Michelle loves to cook and tries to use all the items in her food boxes, sometimes using the recipes that are included inside the boxes. Her favorite items are fresh fruits and vegetables. Whatever she can’t use she shares with folks living at a nearby nursing home.
Mara, a mortgage broker who once donated hunger-relief efforts in her community.
Mara has lived in Evanston for 20 years and has been receiving food from Food Bank of Wyoming for about a year. “I didn’t use to have to go to the Food Bank,” Mara shared. “I had a wonderful job in the mortgage industry making very good money, and donated to the Food Bank.”
But when interest rates went up in 2022 and people stopped buying homes, Mara was laid off. She lived off her savings for about a year while looking for another job, but when the savings ran out she was forced to take a lower paying job as a bank teller.
“When people are not food secure, they can’t focus on the things that they need to do to get situated again,” Mara said thoughtfully. “You know, they don’t have food, so they can’t worry about getting a job, because they are too worried about eating.”
She expressed that receiving food from the pantry has reduced her worrying, alleviating the need to make stressful decisions about whether she should buy food or the medication she needs.
Jim Amsler and his sister, Peggy Christensen, both volunteer with Food Bank of Wyoming. Peggy does many different jobs, but says her primary responsibility is to take the names of the neighbors as they come through the line to get their food box. She collects information like the number of adults, children, and older folks in each household so they can receive the correct amount of food. She also asks about dietary restrictions so the volunteers can accommodate as much as possible. .
Jim and Peggy shared that their mother was one of the original founders of the Evanston food bank 37 years ago, in 1987. Back then, they were working out of their garage and the county would call when there was someone who needed food. Their dad would then drive the food to whomever needed it.
Peggy says her favorite part of volunteering is getting to know people “I know their stories. I know about their surgeries. I know about their divorces and marriages,” she shared.
