Across Wyoming, 1 in 7 people, including 1 in 5 kids, are experiencing food insecurity.
To address the problem of hunger in our communities, agencies like Johnson Friends Feeding Friends, a Hunger Relief Partner of Food Bank of Wyoming, are finding ways to make nutritious food more accessible to local families.
Through Food Bank of Wyoming’s signature Totes of Hope™ program, Johnson Friends Feeding Friends receives enough nutritious food to fill 130-140 bags a week for children. They’ve been doing this since 2018. These bags contain ingredients and recipes for easy-to-prepare, kid-friendly meals, helping reduce the burden for families struggling to make ends meet.
This summer, Johnson Friends Feeding Friends was able to purchase a van thanks to a grant from the Hughes Charitable Foundation so they can serve fresh meals to kids in Johnson County. Throughout the summer, they were able to feed kids approximately 130 lunches each week. Breann Waller, who leads Johnson Friends Feeding Friends efforts, said the van has also been a great way to build awareness in the community.
“I’ve had a lot of parents and kids come up to me asking, ‘Are you the one that sent home our weekend food bags?’” Waller shared. “[In addition to the lunches], we also give weekend food bags from the van.”
Waller said there are myriad situations in which kids across Wyoming need support.
“What I found is that you really don’t know the circumstances in which their home life is. Whether they’re being raised by their grandparents or a single mom, or if one their parents has cancer,” she explained. “If you can take food and hunger off the list, at least then they can put their focus on school; they can put their focus on their family and where they need to be.”
