Local food group says weekend bags, pantries reach hundreds of Sheridan children

A representative of a Sheridan-based food nonprofit told the city council that the group relies on volunteers and local grocery partners to deliver weekend food bags, teen pantries and summer meal supports to children across Sheridan County.

The presenter said the nonprofit began unofficially in 2010, became a 501(c)(3) in 2015 and “we're completely community supported,” adding the group does not receive state or federal funding. The organization distributes a breakfast item, a main entrée, a canned vegetable and a snack in its weekend bags; this week it sent about 508 bags to schools across the county.

The group also operates teen pantries and 19 little free pantry boxes placed around the county (at clinics, the YMCA, the hospital and churches), provides hygiene products, monthly fresh-food home delivery in partnership with local farms and runs literacy projects that put several books in students’ homes. The presenter said recent home deliveries served “527 kids across 225 households.”

Council members and residents asked how people can donate and which items move fastest; the presenter directed donors to the group’s website for a list of shelf-stable items and said meat donations are accepted if processed at an official plant. She urged donors not to leave direct donations in the small free pantries but to bring them to the organization’s former Habitat for Humanity building on Crook Street during public hours (10 a.m.–1 p.m.).

On seasonal needs, the presenter said August tends to be the lightest month and described a holiday effort to assemble 44 Christmas baskets (cutoff date Dec. 12) and a Thanksgiving distribution that had been met this year. The group said it uses more than 100 volunteers each month to pack and distribute food.

The council thanked the presenters and community volunteers; no council action was required. The nonprofit left contact information for residents who want to volunteer or donate.