The Wyoming Hunger Initiative is a statewide effort to end hunger in Wyoming, founded and led by First Lady Jennie Gordon. It is not a traditional food bank with a warehouse; instead it works on the coordination, advocacy, and program side of food insecurity, connecting Wyoming’s pantries and food bank partners and running signature initiatives. The best known are Food from the Field, a partnership among hunters, processors, and agencies to donate game meat to food pantries, and Grow A Little Extra, which encourages people to grow extra produce for neighbors in need.
The Wyoming Hunger Initiative works differently from a food bank. Rather than sourcing and warehousing food, it coordinates among Wyoming’s pantries, food bank partners, and state agencies, advocates for nutrition programs, and runs signature initiatives that mobilize Wyomingites to fight hunger directly. Food from the Field connects hunters and meat processors with food pantries to donate game meat, a culturally fitting source of protein in Wyoming, and Grow A Little Extra asks gardeners and growers to set aside produce for those in need.
Wyoming First Lady Jennie Gordon founded the Wyoming Hunger Initiative in 2019 and leads its day-to-day work with a small team and a network of regional directors across the state. A rancher by background, she has made ending childhood and statewide hunger her signature cause as First Lady, drawing on partnerships across government, agriculture, and the nonprofit sector.
The Initiative works statewide, complementing the Food Bank of Wyoming and local pantries rather than duplicating them. Wyoming’s small, dispersed population and high cost of groceries in isolated towns make coordination and creative sourcing especially valuable, and the Initiative’s programs are designed to fit the state’s rural, agricultural character.
Yes. The Wyoming Hunger Initiative is an established statewide anti-hunger effort led by the Office of the First Lady, working in partnership with Wyoming’s food banks and pantries. It is best understood as a coordinating and program-running initiative rather than a food bank, so donors who want to give food directly may also want to support the Food Bank of Wyoming.
Ways to get involved, including donating and participating in Food from the Field and Grow A Little Extra, are at nohungerwyo.org. Because the Initiative works through programs and partnerships, contributions of time, garden produce, and game meat are as central as cash.
The Wyoming Hunger Initiative and the Food Bank of Wyoming address the same problem from different angles. The Food Bank sources and distributes food at scale through 300-plus partners; the Initiative coordinates, advocates, and runs creative sourcing programs. Supporting both strengthens the state’s overall response to hunger.
Hunters and processors donate game meat to food pantries.
Gardeners grow extra produce for neighbors in need.
Connecting pantries, food banks, and agencies.
Support for SNAP enrollment and nutrition programs.
Sources: Wyoming Hunger Initiative website (nohungerwyo.org), the Office of the First Lady of Wyoming, and Wyoming Public Media and Cap City News reporting on its programs. We are not affiliated with Wyoming Hunger Initiative and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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