Almost three years after abandoning decades-old campaigns to bring in donations to help feed families in crisis in the area, Powell Valley Loaves and Fishes is still fighting to keep adequate food reserves on the shelf during the holiday season.

Prior to the pandemic, every October for more than 30 years, kids have gone door-to-door in Powell to collect canned goods in a community-wide effort to ensure shelves are replenished at Powell Valley Loaves and Fishes going into the busy holiday season. The U.S. Postal Service would also lend a hand collecting food for the pantry. But like so many large events in 2020, those annual food drives were canceled due to Covid.

The loss of the successful programs cost the charity organization thousands of pounds of life-sustaining food reserves, but the community stepped up to help the program get by through the tough times. In 2020 donation receptacles were installed at local grocery stores and they served the nonprofit well.

However, recently there have been dwindling donations at the stores. Friday, Barb Beavers made the rounds to collect food from the receptacles, but only managed to bring two small grocery bags of nonperishables back to the Park County Annex, where the charity is headquartered.

“There wasn’t much food to pick up today,” Beavers said as she delivered the food. “But every little bit counts.”

Last year the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came through with a donation of 4,000 pounds of canned goods, helping the emergency food pantry make it through some tough financial times across the country. The donation almost made up for the average of 6,000 pounds of food the Halloween and USPS campaigns provided.

But most of that food is now gone and the push is on to once again fill the shelves. Now, organizers are pushing for several smaller-scale events instead of a couple large events every year. For example, said volunteer Julie Fulton, the Soroptimists International Club collected more than 700-pounds of food at the Craft Fair held at the Park County Fairgrounds in late November.

“That was wonderful,” Fulton said of the donation, adding “local churches are always collecting as well. We have had fantastic, wonderful donations, including some cash donations from them.”

The charity depends on monetary donations to provide fresh items, including milk, bread, eggs and local meat, she said.

Students at Powell High School are planning a food drive soon, longtime volunteer Jim Wysocki said. He hopes the effort will shore up their supplies.

“If the high school is consistent with what they’ve done in the three years past, it’ll be around 1,000 pounds,” Wysocki said.

Area businesses have also been quick to help out in a pinch as well. But demand for assistance has increased along with the cost of basic home staples. Requests for assistance increased 34% in November over October. The pantry had been averaging serving about 60 families per month earlier this year. That number jumped to 91 families for November.

The increase in the cost to feed a family “is staggering,” Fulton said.

Some staple items currently cost upwards of 70% more year-over-year. For example, the price of potatoes has increased 71%, onions have increased nearly 50% and cucumbers have increased nearly 40%. Gas and rent have also increased over the past few years.

The hardships caused by inflation are severe, leaving some to make incredibly challenging choices, such as ‘do I pay my bills, or do I buy enough food to nourish myself and my loved ones?’

As part of the 2022 Food Bank of Wyoming Holiday Fundraising Drive, the organization is excited to announce they received a $100,000 matching gift opportunity thanks to the John P. Ellbogen Foundation. All funds raised through the month of December will be matched up to $100,000.

Food Bank of Wyoming is currently spending three times the amount on food items this holiday season compared to last year. The $100,000 matching gift opportunity will specifically help Food Bank of Wyoming purchase essential food items needed to provide nourishing meals to Wyoming residents.

“The family food budget is often seen as a flexible expense where a family can save money, purchasing lower quality items that lack nutritional value to stretch their dollar, or by skipping meals altogether. Food Bank of Wyoming is committed to making sure families have nutritious, healthy food available, so they don’t have to make hard choices,” said Rachel Bailey, executive director of Food Bank of Wyoming.

Food Bank of Wyoming is the largest hunger-relief organization in Wyoming and provides food and essentials directly to people facing hunger and through more than 150 Hunger Relief Partners across the state. They serve as the Wyoming Distribution Center of Food Bank of the Rockies, which is a member of the Feeding America network.

Loaves and Fishes, which is supported by the Food Bank of the Rockies, hopes to hear from more organizations interested in helping fill the shelves.

“We’re welcoming people to do food drives. The only thing that we want them to do is tell us in advance so we can get enough volunteers here to process the donation,” Wysocki said.

Some Loaves and Fishes volunteers have been at it for the life of the program, which started nearly 40 years ago. The work can include some heavy lifting and all donations are checked for expiration dates and organized to move older items through prior to fresh donations.

Fulton said the community truly cares for each other and Loaves and Fishes volunteers are very thankful, especially as the economy has a hiccup and times get tougher.

“We just we just want to thank the people of Powell for their continued support through the years,” he said.

Donations can be mailed to Loaves and Fishes at P.O. Box 992, Powell, WY 82435.