Many children in Laramie County School Districts 1 and 2 were too hungry during the school day to focus on their coursework. Although Wyoming’s governor signed an  executive order  in 2018 setting a goal of 67 percent of Wyomingites to hold a post-secondary certificate or degree by 2025, this goal remains unattainable if children are so malnourished or hungry that they can’t be taught the basics like reading and math.

Overvindelse af børnesult

The Friday Food Bag  program, started in 2007 and established as the Friday Food Bag Foundation in 2009, makes a difference in the Cheyenne, Wyoming, community by providing nutritious, non-perishable food, particularly over the weekend, to children with inconsistent access to meals. The efforts of the Friday Food Bag Foundation are being aided by a $20,000 contribution from the Microsoft Community Empowerment Fund.

Friday Food Bag partners with the community and other local organizations to provide bags of food to students in need on Fridays. Initially it was only 50 per week, but as word of the program spread, donations from churches, civic clubs, and individuals helped Friday Food Bag expand, now distributing over 800 bags per week. The filling and distribution of Friday Food Bags is done by community volunteers, at a cost of $5 per bag. Along with a dozen other community groups, Microsoft is also providing volunteers to help fill the food bags on Fridays, at a rate of  1,400 bags  in under an hour.

Samarbejde i Cheyenne-samfundet

Bestyrelsen for Friday Food Bag Foundation består udelukkende af frivillige med forskellige baggrunde og viden, men med det fælles mål at gøre en forskel for Cheyennes børn. Det er vigtigt, at de frivillige og underviserne i Friday Food Bag-ordningen sikrer diskretion ved uddelingen af poser for at sikre, at børn fra økonomisk dårligt stillede husstande ikke føler sig udgrænset blandt deres jævnaldrende.

Microsoft har allerede et samarbejde med Cheyenne Area Boys and Girls Club, og mange af dem, der modtager madpakker om fredagen, er også medlemmer af klubben, hvilket gør Microsofts arbejde endnu mere effektivt og målrettet. Mange af modtagerne af maden er medlemmer af dårligt stillede grupper, f.eks. beboere i landdistrikterne, kvinder og minoriteter.

Denne indsats i lokalsamfundet støttes af lokalsamfundets ledere, forældre og lærere via en aktiv tilstedeværelse på de sociale medier og giver mulighed for at bryde fattigdom og sult i Cheyenne-samfundet.