GOSHEN COUNTY – After the holiday donations are gone, local food pantries are always accepting more donations.

Feeding America estimates every 1 in 7 people benefits from their local food bank. Approximately 67,750 of those people lived in Wyoming in 2019, the most recent data available. Wyo Help Executive Director Kyle Borger estimates the food pantry there goes through 100,000 pounds of food a year in servicing Goshen County alone.

“I find that in our culture, we are often shamed away from accepting the help of others, and it’s not really fair for us to be expected to provide for all of our needs, especially in this difficult time we’re in,” said Pastor Bruce McBurney from the Community Presbyterian Church. The church in Lingle has recently taken after its sister church in Torrington in setting up a blessing box for the community. The congregation met Sunday Jan. 16 to dedicate the box in Lingle.

Blessing boxes rely on the generosity of the local community to stay stocked. Community members can donate food, clothes and other goods to the box for others to come and take as they need.

“This box is not representing this church,” McBurney said. “It’s representing the whole community. If you’re at the grocery store and you’ve got a little extra, you might just pick up a couple of cans and then put them in the blessing box for neighbors who may not have a little extra that month.”

Generous community members also have the chance to volunteer at and donate to the Wyo Help Food Pantry on Torrington’s Main Street.

Open every Friday, the food pantry is there for all those who need a little extra to make it to the end of the month. Unlike many similar services, there are no income qualifications.

Wyo Help works in conjunction with the Food Bank of Wyoming to keep its shelves full. Local grocery stores Main Street Market and Fresh Foods also donate regularly to Wyo Help. Food Bank of Wyoming and grocery stores are some of the main contributors of perishable foods such as meats and dairies. When grocery stores have food still in good condition but not quite the condition they need to sell it, the Wyo Help food pantry takes it.

“The diversity of the people that we serve, ages, job, kids or no kids, it’s a wide range of people,” Wyo Help Assistant to the Executive Director Caroline McBurney said. “It’s a real snapshot of the community.”

The food pantry is “shopper’s choice,” meaning beneficiaries can take their grocery cart through and stock up on what they know they will use, rather than accepting a box with a generic mix of foods they may or may not use.

One of the advantages of shopper’s choice is less food waste. The generic foods in a box handed to beneficiaries may not all get used because of allergies or preferences, but if a shopper can pick and choose which foods to take home, the chances of all the food being used is much greater.

“It allows us to operate in a more efficient manner,” Borger said. “Instead of having to buy 200 bottles of ketchup, I might only have to buy 12 for the month, and so it does allow us to save money. It does allow the product to last longer, and people get to just choose what they want.”

Additional food help from Wyo Help is available to those who meet income qualifications through the government program TEFAP.

The food pantry requires appointments, which shoppers can make online at Wyo Help’s website or by calling 307-344-1157, the pantry’s newly updated number. After the shopper checks in with a volunteer at their appointment, they will receive a certain number of points based on need which they can then redeem for different foods on the shelves.

Food pantries accept food year-round, though donations typically only come in steadily through the holiday season. Food pantries tend to go through those holiday donations quickly. Where Christmas sees food stacked to the ceiling, the shelves are mostly empty by mid-January.

To make a donation, bring the collected items to the food pantry at Wyo Help’s offices at 1933 Main Street. Meats must be collected from a USDA approved source, meaning donations should be arranged through a local grocery store or other USDA approved provider.

Monetary donations are also accepted. The food pantry is looking to raise $45,000 for Goshen County alone this year, only a fraction of the $190,000 Wyo Help is looking to raise overall.

“[Food help] isn’t just for people you would assume need help,” Borger said. “Sometimes you can be fine normally and then one month can just be a very challenging month. If that’s that person in that month, they’re welcome to come in and get [what they need] because you might just need for that one month, and you’ll be fine. It’s ok.”