Provided by Lincoln County Extension

Afton, WYO – The fourth year of Grow a Little Extra is kicking off in Lincoln with free seeds available at the Lincoln County Extension office. Cassie Jasperson will coordinate Grow a Little Extra efforts in the area, including accepting produce donations, weighing them, and distributing them to local anti-hunger organizations. In Star Valley Grow a Little Extra donations will go to the Afton Food Pantry, Thayne Community Food Bank and Alpine Food Bank.

The Grow a Little Extra project encourages home gardeners to “grow a little extra,” existing community gardens to dedicate one or two sections to growing food specifically for donation, and churches or community organizations who want to start a new garden to grow food for the community. Grow a Little Extra is a collaborative effort between First Lady Jennie Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative, the University of Wyoming Extension and the CentSible Nutrition Program.

In 2023, the Grow a Little Extra partnership donated over 27,000 pounds of produce to anti-hunger organizations in the state. Fresh produce is difficult and costly for the food pantry system to procure, and this project encourages people from across the state to participate in this Wyoming solution to hunger.

“University of Wyoming Extension is already doing good work around the state with their Master Gardener program and Cent$ible Nutrition Program,” says First Lady Jennie Gordon. “This Wyoming Hunger Initiative effort continues to leverage the work already being done to increase access to local produce for a wide range of people in Wyoming.” Strengthening local food systems reduces food insecurity and increases positive health outcomes, which supports Wyoming Hunger Initiative’s goal of ensuring nourished kids, healthy families, and thriving communities across the state.

“The Cent$ible Nutrition Program and UW Extension values the partnership with the First Lady’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative to increase access to locally grown fresh produce to people in need.

Together, we have been able to increase produce donations and nutrition education to food pantry and anti-hunger agency patrons,” says CentSible Nutrition State Director Mindy Meuli.

Anyone in the state of Wyoming who enjoys gardening is encouraged to grow an extra row or two and donate the produce to their local Extension office, where it will be weighed and distributed to local anti-hunger organizations.

Contact Cassie Jasperson at 307.885.3132 or cpluhar@uwyo.edu for more information.