Casper, Wyoming — A USDA grant that allowed the Food Bank of Wyoming to purchase fresh food directly from Wyoming suppliers was eliminated in the latest round of federal agency cuts.
The Food Bank of Wyoming received the grant through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, or LFPA, which will allow the non-profit to establish a network of Wyoming family farmers and ranchers to supply locally sourced food to the state’s food insecure residents.
The USDA announced the termination of the LFPA, as well as the Local Food for Schools programs, as part of billionaire industrialist Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, mission to drastically reduce and remake numerous federal agencies.
Both programs were established by the Biden administration via executive order to assist local food suppliers and provide alternatives to corporate food conglomerates as the country recovered from the COVID pandemic.
The Food Bank of Wyoming received approximately $551,000 from the program in 2023, according to Executive Director Jill Stillwagon. The program sends funds to the state, which then reimburses the food bank for its purchases, she explained.
Their current grant funding will expire in July, she explained, but they learned last week that $535,000 set aside for the next fiscal year would not be available.
According to Odessa Oldham, the Food Bank’s food sourcing manager, the grants allowed the organization to establish a network of numerous Wyoming food growers and open up new markets for their products in just two years.
“We’ve built relationships with about 14 producers, and I’m hoping by the end of July that we hit either 16 or 18,” she said. “It’s given us an opportunity to not only build a relationship with them, but to turn around and give that food away at no cost.”
According to Oldham, sourcing more food locally has a positive ripple effect throughout the community, benefiting local economies while also lowering transportation costs and food waste.
“We’ve actually been able to spend more on produce than I thought we would here in Wyoming, which is mainly known as a beef state,” she said. “But there are little niches that we didn’t know about.” Among them are Mountain Fresh in Pinedale, which grows microgreens, and 1890 Farms in Pavilion.
“We did a lot of work with 1890 Farms, which is a family operation,” Odessa said. “Not only did we help them move their product this year, but this program will allow them to expand their operation and production capacity.
It’s been an incredible opportunity to encourage these local farmers and ranchers to expand their own businesses; the local food movement that we’ve been advocating for has finally begun.”
“I’m really hoping that we can continue that momentum in these next couple of years,” she said.
However, now that the grant has been eliminated, maintaining momentum may be more difficult. Oldham is confident that a foundation for sustainability has been laid. “The funding was an opportunity to help them up on their feet and make them be in a competitive market,” she said.
According to Stillwagon, the Food Bank of Wyoming relies on two other major grants to meet its budget. As of now, that funding remains in place. “We are kind of holding tight until more information comes out, but as of right now the LFPA was the only grant that was terminated,” the spokesperson stated.
The cuts occur at a critical time for the state. “The food insecurity need in Wyoming is at its highest level in 10 years,” she said.
According to her, approximately one in every seven adults and one in every five children in Wyoming are food insecure. That’s more than 14% of the population, or approximately 80,000 people. “When you think about the size of our population, that’s a pretty good portion of our residents.”
“We’re continuing to reach out to donors and encouraging them to make a gift, because for every dollar donated to the Food Bank, we’re able to provide enough food for three meals,” according to her. “Regardless of what’s happening right now, our goal is to continue nourishing Wyoming’s people that are experiencing food insecurity.”
Donation and volunteer information can be found on the Food Bank of Wyoming website.