September is Hunger Action Month in Cody

September has officially been designated Hunger Action Month in Cody.

The Cody City Council voted unanimously in favor of the designation, read aloud by Mayor Matt Hall, to address hunger and food scarcity in Cody. The Council heard the proclamation discussing the growing problem of food scarcity in Cody and all of Wyoming and the reasons for the designation recognizing the issue.

Jackie with Cody’s Manna House addressed the council about Manna House’s work and the impact they’ve felt during the pandemic, to the point where their food stores were precariously low. But they never failed to provide food to those in need.

Also, in attendance was Tony Woodell – Director of the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies – who drove from Casper to speak on behalf of the proclamation, drawing attention to sobering statistics on the pervasiveness of food scarcity in Wyoming:

• 1/8 of Wyoming residents live in poverty
• 1/6 of Wyoming’s children go hungry
• The Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies distributes 12 million meals a year to families and individuals in need
• Since the pandemic began, they have been distributing 1.3 million pounds of food per month, and to 3 thousand Park County residents

When asked by the Council how they and the city could be contribute solutions to the problem, Woodell said the best thing they can do is “share the fact; “of Cody recognizing Hunger Action Month, of the ongoing problem of food scarcity in Wyoming, and the solutions available to help our community members most in need.