Wyoming Hunger Initiative sends grant money to Wyoming senior centers

Wyoming first lady Jennie Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative and the Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation awarded 30 food relief checks in July and August to Wyoming Senior Centers, as well as funds designated for the Natrona and Cheyenne Meals on Wheels sites, according to a press release. 

All told, the donations totaled over $10,000 as part of the total $80,000 allocated to anti-hunger nonprofit organizations throughout Wyoming’s 23 counties in July and August. 

The COVID response funds will be directed specifically to feed families and seniors during this time of crisis in a safe environment.

“Wyoming Hunger Initiative’s mission is to end childhood hunger in Wyoming but when COVID hit and so many generous donors stepped up to provide for hungry families in Wyoming, we knew we needed to shift to include all people who were in need of food,” Gordon said. “There are numerous senior centers around the state of Wyoming who are providing meals during this time and we felt it was equally as important to include them in our distribution.”

Wyoming Hunger Initiative funds were allocated to The Hub on Smith, the Buffalo Senior Center and 28 other senior centers around the state.

This is not the first time the first lady has set up an effort on behalf of the state’s senior population. Shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first lady and Wyoming Department of Health’s Aging Division partnered to ask the state’s citizens to send letters and cards to residents in the state’s skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers. The result was 5,134 cards mailed to 40 centers around the Cowboy State, according to the release.  

“Older Wyomingites, AARP Wyoming, and our members have long received support from those inside the Governor’s Residence, but the work of the first lady on behalf of our state’s age 50 and over has been truly outstanding,” AARP Wyoming State Director Sam Shumway said. “The first lady and Department of Health’s letters and cards program is a great way to reach out to those struggling with social isolation, which impacts both mental and physical well-being.”

Wyoming Hunger Initiative’s efforts are made possible by many generous organizations and numerous private donors from across the state.