TORRINGTON – On Wednesday, May 28 the Land of Goshen Ministries received a $10,000 donation. As the board of directors were patiently waiting, they discussed what knowledge they had on the donation.

“It’s from WESTCO. It’s a matching grant, that I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t know where the matching comes from, but they matched $5,000 on another entity. They put that grant in for us, on our behalf. It will go into our food pantry. It will be strictly for food,” Molly Aagard said. “David Kendall should be here shortly. He really has the handle on the financials. What he’ll tell you, basically is that we’ve been just struggling to kind of keep up with the increasing prices.”

The financial pressures facing the ministry are substantial. Board president David Kendall outlined the stark reality of their current situation.

“Our expenses for the nine months year to date are up over $17,000 from a year ago,” Kendall explained. “Our donations are down over $15,000 from a year ago. So, we have a little over $30,000 shortfall.”

Despite these challenges, the board of directors stressed the food bank has managed to maintain operations through creative solutions and community support.

“We’ve kind of kept pace with through our sales in the [thrift] store, supplementing it when needed,” Aagard added.

The ministry’s struggles reflect broader economic pressures affecting both food assistance organizations and the families they serve. Rising grocery prices have created a double burden: higher costs for purchasing food supplies while community members face their own financial constraints.

“Grocery prices going up due to inflation on the expense side. On the income side, everybody’s more pressed to pay for groceries that they need at home so they don’t have as much help in other areas,” Kendall explained. “We’ve been averaging about 100 households a month over the last six months.”

The demand for services is expected to increase as federal assistance programs face cuts. Aagard anticipates growing need in the community.

“We’re kind of anticipating that changing because of the uncertainty with WYO Help. I know that I got a message through our people with [Wyoming First Lady] Jennie Gordon organization that the SNAP program’s being cut like 300 billion. So, we’re just anticipating needed to pick up,” Aagard said.

The ministry operates entirely through private support, refusing government funding in favor of community-based assistance.

“We don’t do government funding at all. We just rely on our community and our people around us to step up,” Aagard said.

WESTCO’s support represents a continuing partnership with the organization. Kendall noted the cooperative’s history of assistance.

“We missed last year for whatever reason but two years ago they gave us $10,000, $5,000 from WESTCO and $5,000 from Land O’Lakes and I imagine that’s what it is again this year. I think they told you $10,000,” Kendall said to Aagard. “But I imagine it’s a 50-50 cooperative deal on their part.”

Inside the food pantry, operations manager Louis  Kuhnel demonstrated the practical challenges of maintaining adequate supplies. The facility houses multiple freezers stocked with essential items.

“This is our freezer. Butter’s in here. Bread, we need to freeze,”  Kuhnel said opening a steel freezer door inside the food pantry. “Hamburger,” he said while opening a chest-type deep freeze.

The cost of maintaining protein supplies represents a significant portion of their budget.  Kuhnel explained their current purchasing arrangement with a local business.

“They give us a pretty good price on it. Do they give it away? No. So, this stuff costs us about $4 a pound and those are two-pound packages. That’s $8. It adds up,”  Kuhnel said opening another chest freezer of burger packages which was half empty. “This right here is the same thing. This went down last week, or last pantry, because it was full. It went down this far.”

The donation represents a continuation of WESTCO and the Land O’Lakes Foundation’s dedication to combating hunger through the Member Co-op Match Program under the Feeding Our Communities initiative, which specifically targets hunger relief in rural America. This program doubles the effectiveness of local contributions by matching cooperative donations dollar-for-dollar.

“Land O’Lakes is pleased to support communities where our members, employees, and facilities are located,” Morgan Kinross-Wright, Executive Director of the Land O’Lakes Foundation said in a recent press release.

“WESTCO is proud to once again partner with Land O’Lakes in supporting our local food pantries. The Crawford Food Pantry provides an essential service to Crawford and the surrounding area,” WESTCO General Manager David Briggs said emphasizing the cooperative’s ongoing commitment to local food assistance. 

Chelsie Herian, WESTCO Human Resource Manager, met the board in the pantry walk-in, where she presented the group with the check. She detailed the application process and explained how the matching program amplifies community impact.

“This was my first time writing the grant and learning the process,” Herian said. “I’ve been with the co-op just over a year. We applied to the Land O’Lakes Foundation, which earmarks funds for member projects. Last year, we supported a community vitality project by helping the Alliance Recreation Center redo their gym floor after 22 years. This year, we focused on hunger relief and applied for $20,000 – and got it. We’re supporting four food pantries in our service area. As a co-op, we match the donation dollar for dollar, so they’ll receive $10,000.”

The gratitude from the ministry leadership was evident as they received the substantial donation.

“Let me tell you this, we really, really appreciate this,” Kendall said. “It’s not like we’re plush.”

This donation arrives at a critical moment for the Land of Goshen Ministries, providing essential funding to bridge a significant financial gap while demand for services continues to grow. The partnership between WESTCO and the Land O’Lakes Foundation demonstrates how cooperative businesses can address community needs through strategic giving programs.

The $10,000 contribution will help the ministry navigate the dual pressures of rising food costs and increased demand for assistance. While this support provides temporary relief, the ongoing challenges facing food assistance organizations across the region highlight the continued need for community investment in hunger relief efforts.

For the 100 households served monthly by the Land of Goshen Ministries, this donation represents more than financial assistance – it ensures continued access to essential nutrition during increasingly difficult economic times.