UW Sheridan Research And Extension Center Donates Beans To Food Bank Of Wyoming

What was originally used for research is now going to the hungry.

Last week, Food Bank of Wyoming located in Casper, received a donation of nearly 1,600 pounds of dry beans from the University of Wyoming Sheridan Research and Extension Center.

The Center planted an extra acre or 2 of beans to test equipment, and later, the farm team found themselves with a surplus of pinto beans, which they had no use for, thus they were donated.

Dry beans, including pinto beans, are a nutritious, protein-rich staple and hold up well during storage and transportation. 

In the seed processing facility in Sheridan, crews ran the harvested beans through the cleaner and sorted split beans from whole beans, then packaged them into 39 40-pound bags for donation.

The bags will be distributed across the state by Food Bank of Wyoming to their Hunger Relief Partners, including soup kitchens and senior centers where volunteers cook and serve a high volume of hot meals.

Local partners, such as food pantries, may also choose to re-package the beans into smaller bags for distribution.

A spokes-person for the center says if next year’s projects yield a surplus of beans in addition to research results, they’d like to continue the donation program.