A home delivery volunteer at the Powell Senior Center was honored recently at a summit on food insecurity.

First lady Jennie Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative in partnership with the Hughes Charitable Foundation hosted its sixth and final regional summit in northern Wyoming recently to bring folks together who are working in the space of food insecurity and to honor volunteers.

Carol Johnston, who has been a committed volunteer for the Powell Senior Center’s home delivery meal program for the past four years, was honored at this ceremony.

“Carol really has a heart for our community members. She takes the time to talk with each person and considers each one of them as a friend. She lets us know who is in greatest need of food or other services. Carol is always one step ahead of us to offer to take on additional routes throughout the week,” said Linda Dalton, executive director of the Powell Senior Center.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative was launched in 2019 with two tenants in mind: one, to never reinvent the wheel and two, to be in all 23 Wyoming counties. There are grassroots efforts in every Wyoming county dedicated to reducing hunger and combating food insecurity.

“Through the relationships that have been developed across the state specific to food insecurity, Wyoming Hunger Initiative has identified partners in every community which has resulted in opportunities to network, share resources, and collaborate” said Gordon in the release. “Ultimately, this summit will lead northern Wyoming forward together while also producing realistic action items that are already underway.”

The event kicked off with a volunteer recognition celebration where anti-hunger organizations in northern Wyoming nominated a volunteer from their organization to be recognized.  Without the countless volunteers across the county, this work would not be possible.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative seeks to find and support Wyoming solutions to the challenge of food insecurity, which affects approximately 86,000 residents statewide. Launched in October 2019, Wyoming Hunger Initiative is the official initiative of Gordon and is governed by the board of directors of the Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. For more information, visit nohungerwyo.org.