Kristen Cheser
Staff Writer
At first sight, the headquarters of Feeding Laramie could be mistaken as a regular house with a dining hall inside of it. In reality, the house is one of many locations aimed at producing fresh food for the people of Laramie, which started in 2009.
“Equal access to food is a priority,” said Lina Dunning, the coordinator of Feeding Laramie Valley, “Our organization is from the ground up…Our basis is on food justice. We don’t just come in and say, ‘This is how you do it.’ The people we work with teach us all the time and give back tenfold. We try to set that example.”
Feeding Laramie Valley is a non-profit organization that grows a variety of fruits and vegetables during the brief growing season in Laramie, however, they are not a food pantry.
The non-profit is able to grow a variety of produce, including strawberries, raspberries, carrots, turnips, potatoes and more.
“Most of our fruit comes from vendors at the farmer’s market or from people who have apple trees tucked away in their yards all over Laramie,” Dunning said.
Feeding Laramie Valley also grows some lesser known vegetables, including bok choy and korabi, which Dunning said grows well in Wyoming’s climate.
“[Korabi] is a bit like a turnip, but [it] grows above the ground [and] is bald [with] funny roots. It’s like a mild turnip and jicama, but it’s crunchy and it happens to grow well here, but hardly anybody knew about it. We had to do a lot of education to show people,” Dunning said.
Other vegetables that the organization produces when available are kale and other varieties of Asian greens.
Rachel Suratt is the AmeriCorps VISTA of Feeding Laramie Valley. She said in addition to receiving fresh produce, they also provide recipes and instructions on how to prepare the odd vegetables that the organization grows.
During the winter break, Feeding Laramie Valley worked with Big Hollow in order to provide fresh produce to the people of Laramie.
“We hope to extend our season and work with hoop houses [which are] like greenhouses made with hoops, and to build greenhouses. If not 12 months out of the year than maybe 8 months,” Dunning said.
She also said financial situations are not the only cause of food insecurity. Access to fresh foods is a significant issue, especially in Laramie.
“Part of food insecurity in Laramie is that not everyone has three grocery stores,” said Dunning. “There’s a big part of town that’s more than a mile away from any of these grocery stores. There’s great public transportation for college students but not for the general public or people not on the main routes.”
The organization also provides different summer programs, one of which provides all children under 18 with free lunch and additional activities.
Volunteers and internships are also accepted during the busy season. Volunteers will assist in cleaning up after winter, caring for the gardens and also working with the summer programs such as Kids Out to Lunch and the other two public events Fun in the Park and the Higher Ground Fair.
Fun in the Park takes place at the end of August and provides a free lunch and a concert. The Swing Dance Club also attends to teach everyone how to swing dance.
In September, Feeding Laramie Valley helps to organize the Higher Grounds Fair. This year marks the fifth year of the fair.
“It’s the innovation and live experiences of the people living in the six Rocky Mountain States. It brings together different activities you wouldn’t think would go together, like a llama show and a concert,” Suratt said. “There’s an artisan marketplace, food vendors, concerts, a beer and wine garden, and a bunch of things packed into the weekend to highlight things about these six states.” In addition she said there’s also guest speakers and workshops
Kiwanis Park is amongst the newer projects of Feeding Laramie Valley. A portion of the park has been converted into 27 small lots for anyone to sign up for in order use. Dunning said of the people using the lots, many live in apartments and did not have their own land in order to grow fruits or vegetables.
Gardens for Health and Healing is another program previously done through Feeding Laramie Valley and UW. The organization was granted funds in order to provide home gardens to an array of people with different illnesses.
“The program started when the farmer’s markets first came to Laramie. That was a really exciting time for Laramie, but it became clear that the food was not accessible to everybody because of the cost primarily. And so, right away a group of women decided to set up a card table at the farmer’s market asking people to buy a little extra and to donate it. Then it was donated through the soup kitchen,” Dunning said.
Later, more donations were received from those farmers who could not transport their crops back to their farm.
