Friday August 23 is an important day here at the station and all over Casper – we’re asking for your help as we set out to feed hungry kids in Casper. The first annual Casper Cares Radiothon will benefit the Weekend Backpack Program from the Wyoming Food For Thought Project.

You might be surprised – over 2,500 kids in Casper struggle with food insecurity.  Whether it’s poverty, homelessness, family circumstance, or whatever the reason – often, when these kids aren’t in school, connected to the safety net of the free and reduced-cost breakfast and lunch programs, they simply do without – often missing crucial dinners,

Casper Cares
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snacks, and in some cases, going entire weekends without something to eat.  That’s where you come in.  The Wyoming Food For Thought Project assembles free weekend food bags for kids in food insecure households, to get them through the lean times away from school – and they’re already serving hundreds of kids in Casper.  Trouble is, there is more demand than supply – and we’ll be looking for your donations of food, and cold hard cash to keep the program going, and hopefully expand it to meet the constantly growing need.  If you can, give cash. Keep in mind, just $25 a month takes care of a hungry Casper child for an entire year.  We’ll gladly take that (or whatever you can spare) in a variety of different ways.  Online, at caspercares.org – cash, checks and credit cards accepted in person, on Friday the 23rd at either Casper location of Albertson’s between 6am and 6pm – or, we’ll have volunteer phone operators standing by during those same times, at 307-337-1703, who can process a credit card over the phone, or take a phone pledge for direct billing if you’d prefer another payment method.

You can also donate non-perishable food staples for the backpacks at either Albertson’s – here’s what we need most:

  • Jars of peanut butter
  • Canned items – like ravioli, vegetables, tuna – keep in mind, these are kids often with limited places to “prepare” food, so individual serving cans, pop-top lids, etc. all go a long way.
  • Individual sized crackers

Thanks in advance for your help making sure that Casper kids in need don’t go hungry this year – and thanks to our friends at the Wyoming Food For Thought Project for tackling the problem head-on.  They’re a locally run, locally funded non-profit organization focused on creating sustainable solutions to food access in Wyoming – and they’re about a lot more than weekend backpacks.  You’ll find them managing the Downtown Casper Farmer’s Market, the Community Garden Network, working on partnerships with other hunger relief and food education programs, and providing advocacy for better local food systems.

Thanks also to Subway, for sponsoring our first annual radiothon – if you’d like to get a head start on helping the kids, now through Friday the 23rd, you can drop off a jar of peanut butter at Subway’s CY, Center, or Walmart West locations, and get a FREE six inch sub in return.  Kids get fed, you eat fresh – everyone wins!

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