Summer Weekend Meals: A Community Effort to Keep Kids Fed

When school lets out for the summer, many children lose access to the meals they depend on during the school year. For 11 weeks this summer, the Edible Prairie Project worked alongside community partners, volunteers, and local organizations to help bridge that gap and ensure local children had access to food on the weekends.

Together, we distributed 2,169 weekend food bags to children throughout Campbell County. Each bag contained an average estimated value of $9.31 in food, including protein-rich beef sticks provided through the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, along with fresh fruits and vegetables to help provide healthy options throughout the summer months.

This program was possible because of a community that believes every child deserves access to food. We are grateful for the incredible partners who helped connect children and families with weekend food bags, including:

• Boys & Girls Club

• Wright Community Assistance

• Kid Clinic

• Campbell County Recreation Center

• Gillette Abuse Refuge Foundation

• Visitation and Advocacy Center

• CCSD High School Summer School

• CCSD Elementary Summer School

Community support came in many forms, including generous funding from our grant partners. We are grateful to the Albertsons Companies Foundation and the Safeway Foundation, First Interstate BancSystem Foundation, and the Kroger Family of Companies for providing critical support for the Summer Weekend Meals program.

We are also grateful to our Breakfast Builder Sponsors: ANB Bank and Big Horn Tire, and our Snack Sponsors: First Northern Bank, Pinnacle Bank, RE/MAX, and Security State Bank. Their support helped provide the food and resources needed to distribute weekend food bags throughout the summer. Many of these supporters also gave their time in addition to their financial support, joining us to pack and distribute bags throughout the summer.

Behind every bag was a team of people who gave their time, energy, and resources. We are incredibly thankful to the volunteers who packed bags, loaded vehicles, and delivered food each week. Teams from Interstate Power Systems and Devon Energy helped prepare and distribute bags, with Devon Energy also assisting with deliveries. We are also grateful to Katrin and Shelby from Edward Jones for helping deliver bags to families throughout the summer.

To our volunteer drivers who made sure food reached the right places week after week, thank you. Your dedication helped turn a simple bag of food into a reliable source of support for local children and families.

The impact of this program goes far beyond the number of bags delivered. It represents a community coming together to care for its neighbors, support local families, and make sure children have access to food on the weekend during the summer months.

Thank you to every partner, volunteer, and supporter who helped make our 2026 Summer Weekend Meals for Kids program possible.