Holiday Help Doubled: $125,000 Match Boosts Food Bank of Wyoming Donations

The original story by Nick Perkins for Oil City News.

If you’ve been thinking about giving to the Food Bank of Wyoming, December is the month to do it — every dollar you donate will go twice as far.

The Food Bank of Wyoming has received a $125,000 matching gift from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, meaning all donations made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar for dollar, up to that amount.

In other words, $1 becomes $2, and the impact follows.

“This generous gift comes at a crucial time,” the food bank said, noting that it and its network of more than 150 Hunger Relief Partners are on the front lines of rising need this holiday season.

Food insecurity in Wyoming is at its highest level in a decade, according to the Food Bank of Wyoming:

• 1 in 7 people in the state faces hunger;
• 1 in 5 children doesn’t reliably know where their next meal is coming from.

Matched donations will help the food bank stock up on essentials and keep families fed through the holidays and into the new year.

“We are once again immensely grateful for this matching gift from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation,” said Executive Director Danica Sveda. “No one should have to choose whether to heat their home for the holidays or put food on the table. Thanks to this gift, we can help eliminate the burden of that choice.”

Normally, every $1 donated provides enough food for three meals.

With the Ellbogen Foundation match in place for December, that same $1 can now provide up to six meals.

The food bank says the best way to help right now is with financial donations, which allow it to buy exactly what’s needed and stretch resources as far as possible.

You can:

• Make a one-time gift;
• Set up a recurring monthly donation.

If you’d rather give in person — and enjoy a night out — you can also support the Food Bank of Wyoming at the Headbangers Against Hunger concert:

• When: Dec. 20;
• Where: Oil City Beer Company;
• Doors open: 6 p.m.

Attendees can enjoy craft beer, live music, and the chance to support the food bank right before Christmas.

“With so many families, children, and older adults in need of food assistance right now, there has never been a better time to support Food Bank of Wyoming,” the organization said.