Feeding those in need drives Wyo. exec
Rachel Bailey, the executive director of the Food Bank of Wyoming, had seen the world working in marketing, but her values brought her home to Wyoming to help the people of her home state.
“I just wanted to kind of shift my focus and kind of be able to contribute to a community based on my values and the values of that community,” Bailey said. “It came from a desire of wanting to give back to a place that I grew up and really loved, but also to help people that were here, around me.”
She is the USA TODAY Woman of the Year for Wyoming.
After working at the American Cancer Society on a community health initiative and the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, Bailey took charge of the food bank in 2022.
It’s not an easy task.
“Our drivers last year traveled about 100,000 or 250,000 miles around the state. We also have weather conditions, you know, that shut roads down and makes it very challenging for people to access food,” Bailey said. “Wyoming is also a state where we do not grow a lot of food for humans outside of the cattle industry. We also do not have food manufacturers or large-scale food manufacturers in our state.”
The best way to support the food bank, according to Bailey, is through donations. The Wyoming food bank is a part of Feeding America which allows the food bank to turn $1 into three meals.
“We’re able to do that through our scale donations, as well as being able to cooperatively purchase food in bulk ... and those costs are then passed on so we’re able to purchase food at a lower price than you could get from a wholesaler or from a grocery store,” she said.
We spoke with her about her career and challenges.
Do you have a guiding principle for your work?
From a nonprofit perspective you have to think about being an organization that is relevant to your community, or your state, and really trying to get in and dig in and understand, like, how you fit into the bigger picture. What are the needs of the community, and how can you satisfy those needs without duplicating them?
The way that I have always thought about it is: If a nonprofit is successful, or if the work that we are doing is successful, then you will see the community is responding to it, participating in it and want to be a part of it.
Do you have something that you consider a win from the past year?
Yes, several, but, you know, two weeks ago, I went to a mobile pantry, on the Wind River Reservation . ... I was able to just kind of be there and help and talk with the neighbors and enjoy a beautiful January day. It was an event handing out food for food assistance, but it’s very celebratory. It was joyful.
I think that it really puts in perspective, why we’re doing this. Watching people being able to come and get a 25pound bag of produce and some of the other staples and needs that can help them throughout the month and turn that into like a very joyful and kind of community centric experience.
Who paved the way for you?
I have a pretty significant mentor, Ann Ruble . ... She was a great soundboard. She’s very encouraging. If there were things that I knew that kind of used to happen, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do it. She was she was a wonderful soundboard and kind of creative lead. She also taught me things about nonprofits and nonprofit leadership.
Do you have a definition for courage?
I think that courage is taking on the hard things in stride and meeting them head-on with curiosity and creativity and in some instances compassion.
What’s the best advice a parent gave you?
The best advice really this comes from my dad; my mother has given me lots of good advice, but this has been key in my work: If you don’t ask the question, the answer is always no.