Thanks to a grant from the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, local residents are staying cooler this summer at the Powell Senior Center.

The Wyoming Hunger Initiative awarded the nonprofit a $5,000 infrastructure grant that enabled the installation of a new HVAC system at the North Gilbert Street center.

“Our system was so old that it could no longer be maintained or repaired,” said center director Linda Dalton, and the old equipment wasn’t working well, either.

When temperatures dipped below zero last winter, the conditions upstairs were unpleasant, Dalton said. But thanks to the upgrade, the center now has heat for next winter and air conditioning for the summer.

It’s not the first time that the Wyoming Hunger Initiative has helped out the Powell center. When the nonprofit’s reach-in freezer went down earlier this year, the Wyoming Hunger Initiative and the Wyoming Governor’s Residence Foundation awarded $4,500 to help pay for a replacement. The Wyoming Hunger Initiative also has helped cover the costs for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter meals.

“First Lady Jennie Gordon and the Wyoming Hunger Initiative have been such advocates for the Powell Senior Center and our community members,” Dalton said, calling the initiative “such a valuable nonprofit organization.”

For more information about the initiative, visit nohungerwyo.org.