The food program Feeding Laramie Valley has been forced to halt its shares of free fruits and veggies since federal grants that the program relied on in the past have changed requirements or ended.
“It was a slow, steady process of loss,” said Gayle Woodsum, the executive director of Feeding Laramie Valley. “It was even hard to recognize what was going on because some of it, we were left hanging. We had programs that were approved, and our contracts went forward, but they didn't send us any money. And we're like, ‘Well, where's the money?’”
No money meant they couldn’t pay people to plant produce in their gardens to give away, and their AmeriCorps volunteer program was killed by the federal government simultaneously.
Woodsum said the shares provide free nutritious food to over 800 people every week, allowing families to come pick out four fruits or veggies to take home. Plus, she says she’s seeing food insecurity on the rise across Albany County.
“We knew we were in survival mode, and so I tried to look at things that way. We managed. I don't know how we did it. Well, I do, because we're now really broke,” Woodsum said.
This spring, the organization went into emergency mode and raised money locally that helped them limp through June and July and keep going with programs like their lunch program for kids.
“The local community was extraordinary,” Woodsum said. “In three weeks, they raised $13,000, which immediately allowed us to get back to providing those full frontline services for about seven or eight weeks. “
But Woodsum said that money has since run out. She’s had to cancel shares and start fundraising once again.
Feeding Laramie Valley provides free food to people across Wyoming’s largest food desert. A second food pantry in Rock River also recently reduced the amount of food it can provide.
