Natrona County Law Enforcement Officials announced that they are partnering with Jennie Gordon, the First Lady of Wyoming, for their annual Shop with a Cop Program. In addition to providing Christmas presents, Gordon and Natrona County Law Enforcement are also providing food baskets to over 400 local children this holiday season.

Every year, Natrona County Law Enforcement partners with the community to present Shop with a Cop -  a program that uses donations accepted from the community to provide a one-on-one shopping experience to underprivileged children within the community. Every year, this program gives children and families a memorable Christmas that they may not otherwise get to experience.

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This year, Jennie Gordon is partnering with Natrona County Law Enforcement as part of the First Lady’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative. With this partnership, not only will these children receive presents – they will also each receive a food basket as well. This is in response to the staggering number of children who face food insecurity on a daily basis.

According to Feeding America’s national website, 70,640 people living in Wyoming are struggling with hunger, 21,160 of whom are children. That is 1 out of every 6 children in Wyoming.

Mrs. Gordon’s Hunger Initiative aims to remedy that statistic and, by partnering with Natrona County Law Enforcement this season, the goal is to fill the hearts, and stomachs, of Natrona County’s children.

“When we began planning for this year’s program, our donations were drastically lower than years past,” said Casper Police Sergeant Jeff Bullard in a press release issued by the Casper Police Department. “We let our community know, and they showed up for our local children in a big way. We are now on track to provide this experience to more children than we ever have in the past. With the partnership of the First Lady of Wyoming, not only will these children receive presents for the holidays, they will leave knowing they have a sustainable meal for days to come. We are so grateful for the First Lady’s generosity and dedication to preventing food insecurity throughout our State – and in our community.”

For years, Shop with a Cop has partnered with local Walmart locations. This year, Walmart even agreed to put together the food baskets for the program, ensuring that this is, indeed, a community effort.

In October 2019, the First Lady launched the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, whose mission is to end childhood hunger in Wyoming. The initiative works to prevent food insecurity by increasing awareness and support for the work of local anti-hunger organizations statewide.

This year’s Shop with a Cop event is scheduled to take place on the weekend of December 5 and 6, at both Casper Walmart locations. Applications are now closed and families are being notified of their acceptance to the program.

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