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The price of groceries was a big talking point in this year’s election, and high costs of living continue to make headlines across the country. Those costs have kept the Food Bank of Wyoming busy this year.

Health Tech Academy is working with the Wyoming-based nonprofit, Native American Jumpstart, to train tribal members across the country for free.

More local meat, produce and grains will be hitting food bank shelves this summer thanks to a more than $500,000 Local Food Purchasing Agreement Grant for the Food Bank of Wyoming from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of the funding is to buy more food from small-scale Wyoming producers and distribute it to folks in need across the state.

In celebration of Earth Day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded over $1 million to nine rural businesses in Wyoming to help them lower energy costs. The money comes from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The REAP initiative helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses use more renewable energy sources and increase their overall energy efficiency.

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe is hoping to create a new community space dedicated to their culture, history, art and ongoing education. It’s a big undertaking, but the tribe now has some exciting financial and logistical support to help make this dream a reality.

The funds are going to support various projects in Laramie, Cheyenne, Dubois, Thayne, and Sheridan.

The training exercise is scheduled for a day in late October and will include officials from the city and county as well as ones from surrounding counties to better plan and prepare for a hazardous materials situation caused by a derailment. There have been several in Wyoming in recent years, including earlier this year in a Sheridan rail yard, of a coal train near Arvada, and in a rail yard in Cheyenne.

Sheridan County Prevention is in the process or working towards applying for a grant next year from a national organization that would help with their suicide and substance abuse prevention efforts and that would also increase community involvement in them. The grant also requires that a more comprehensive effort be taken to focus on the general health and well being of the community, an initiative that's to be called "Healthy Sheridan County."

The Edible Prairie Project provides non-perishable food items via repurposed newspaper stands at several locations in Gillette and one in Wright. A recent $1,000 grant from the Gillette Elks Lodge will allow for more food to be purchased for those in need at a time when demand for it is at record levels. Two more newspaper stands are set to be added to the network of pantries in January.

A $5.9 million grant from the state will help establish an Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, Healing (EmPATH) and a Crisis Stabilization Unit for Sheridan County and the surrounding area. Currently, there are no emergency facilities to deal with those in a mental health crisis, who are sometimes transferred long distances for treatment.