Grow a little extra

Your green thumbs can help your friends and neighbors this year if you choose to take part in the “Grow a Little Extra” program, presented by the Wyoming Hunger Initiative.

By adding extra to your vegetable garden, you can provide fresh produce for local people who are facing food insecurity.

Free seeds are available at the UW Extension Office in Sundance, all selected for their suitability to grow in Wyoming’s climate.

“We have tomato, acorn squash, pepper mix, cucumber and green bean seeds,” says UW Educator Sara Fleenor.

“Or people can donate other stuff they plant as well.”

To participate, simply set aside some space in your garden to grow the seeds and take care of your garden through the summer. Once the produce is ready, you can deliver it to the UW Extension office for weighing and distribution.

“We will take donations here or at the Food Pantry and it will be distributed locally,” says Fleenor.

The effort is a partnership with the UW Extension’s Cent$ible Nutrition Program and Master Gardener Program.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative, spearheaded by First Lady Jennie Gordon, launched in 2019 with the goal of ending childhood hunger in this state. Since then, the mission has grown to end hunger for every Wyomingite, of whom 86,000 are estimated to struggle with food insecurity.

The initiative’s work is done by increasing awareness and supporting the work of local anti-hunger organizations through innovative programs.

In addition to Grow a Little Extra, the initiative’s programs currently include “Food from the Field”, streamlining donations of game meat to food pantries; “Food from the Farm + Ranch”, keeping locally grown protein in local communities; “Wyoming Angel Accounts”, eliminating school meal debts in school districts; and infrastructure grants for anti-hunger organizations.

Find out more about the initiative and the Grow a Little Extra program at nohungerwyo.org.