Rallying against hunger

Food Summit seeks to fill void left by mobile food pantry

Crystal R. Albers
Posted 7/18/18

In May, the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies sent its last mobile food pantry to Goshen County for the foreseeable future.

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Rallying against hunger

Food Summit seeks to fill void left by mobile food pantry

Posted

GOSHEN COUNTY – In May, the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies sent its last mobile food pantry to Goshen County for the foreseeable future. Since then, local charitable organization Goshen HELP has sought a solution – culminating in a planned food summit scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the meeting room at 21st and Main.

The event, designed to “bring interested parties and potential resources into one room to discuss how to best provide food support for individuals lacking sufficient food resources,” looks to address the needs of more than 400 families who utilized the mobile food pantry.

“What we’re discovering in our community, there’s a large amount of people who make just enough to not qualify (for other social services),” Goshen HELP Executive Director Kyle Borger said. The mobile food pantry did not require income-based qualifications – everyone was invited to participate.

“Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies chose to go in a different direction,” Borger explained. “They are wanting us to establish a more permanent food pantry, more efficient. Each truck we brought in cost $2,000. Depending on building costs, rent, utilities, we should be able to (create a permanent food pantry) cheaper.”

According to an update at the end of May on the Goshen HELP Facebook page, “the Mobile Food Pantry program for the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies (based in Casper) is an expensive program and required a lot of resources. It was intended to be a short-term solution. The food bank is asking our local community to find a solution that is more efficient in distributing food on a regular basis. The preference is a local pantry that is available several times a week.”

Goshen HELP has invited the following entities to send a representative to the August food summit: all city councils within Goshen County; Goshen County Commissioners; Goshen County School District; Department of Family Services; other local assistance agencies; Care and Share; Land of Goshen Ministries; churches with a food pantry; Kelly’s Super; Main Street Market; Shopko; and individuals in need of food assistance.

“We are asking interested individuals to contact us to secure a spot as seating is limited,” the invitation reads. “We desire to hear from individuals who do not qualify for any current food assistance programs and still fall short of having sufficient food.”

The Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies will also be in attendance to offer information regarding food sufficiency, county demographics, and the benefits of local food rescue.

“Our agenda will be tightly scheduled (in order to) achieve our goals,” Borger said. “Our goal is to achieve a clear picture of what is required to meet the food challenges of all Goshen County citizens with the intent to help them become self-sufficient wherever possible.

“Desired resources will include possible buildings to house a new food pantry, shelving, coolers, volunteers, and local financial support.”

Individuals who desire to attend the food summit are encouraged to reach out to Goshen HELP via its Facebook page or email goshenhelp@gmail.com.

“We do hope community leaders will participate – they have vast amount of information, as well as business owners, and low-income individuals,” Borger said. “We want to bring it all together into one initiative.”