CHEYENNE – When Eva Estorga first saw the new location for the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Food Pantry, all she could say was “wow,” she said.
“It’s a blessing we’ve been waiting for,” Estorga said Wednesday. She is the coordinator of the church’s food pantry, in addition to other duties.
The pantry provides a free box or bag of food a week to anyone in need in Laramie County. People who want a food bag need to show identification.
On Sept. 21, St. Joseph’s closed on the purchase of a spacious 5,000-square-foot warehouse near the church. The warehouse has clean white walls, polished concrete floors and plenty of space. It’s about twice as large as the former pantry space.
“This certainly gives us the space to do more,” said Father Carl Gallinger, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne.
The St. Joseph’s food pantry started in the 1980s as an informal operation in the basement of the parish office at 314 E. Sixth St.
When demand increased, the pantry moved across the street to a building originally planned for religious education.
But it quickly needed most of that space too. Its dry food was stored in a garage, and Jo-Ed Produce kept food at no charge that needed to be refrigerated or kept frozen.
In addition, the need for the pantry’s services has increased significantly through the years.
Three years ago, for example, the program filled 800 bags of food a month, Gallinger said. The bags represented 1,400 adults and 800 children.
In 2015, volunteers prepared 1,800 bags or boxes of food a month, he said. The number represented 2,200 adults and 1,400 children, according to information about the program.
“It saddens me when the parking lot is full and there are 100 people standing outside the door waiting to get food on a given day,” Gallinger said, because it shows the need for help is so great.
The new location will allow people to come indoors; they won’t have to wait outside, he said.
The new space features 14-foot doors for deliveries, handicapped-accessible bathrooms and office space, along with refrigerators and freezers.
The pantry partners with Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies for most of its food. It also receives food from local supermarkets and businesses, and fresh meat from 4-H animal purchases by Town and Country Supermarket Liquors.
The expansion will provide more room for the 80 volunteers who assemble the boxes and bags, unload the semi-truck that delivers food each week, pick up donations and distribute food.
“They’re my angels,” Estorga said. “I tell them that none of this could be done without them.”
Rosemary Barrett of Cheyenne has volunteered for three or four years.
“I just feel a desire or a passion to serve the poor and those in need,” she said.
“Any one of us at any time could be in the same situation,” she said. “We all need help sometimes, no matter what. Every person has value and worth, and we try to express that.”
