GILLETTE — More at-risk Campbell County residents may be seeing fresh food on their plates in the near future as the Edible Prairie Project expands its operations and facilities over the next few years.
The Edible Prairie Project has worked to improve food accessibility since its founding in 2019. The nonprofit organization has grown food on an acre of land and worked with local producers to set up programs to help residents deal with issues of food security.
According to data gathered by Feeding America published in 2023, 13.3% of the Campbell County population faces food insecurity, where economic circumstances have resulted in reduced food quality and variety, or in severe cases, disrupted or reduced food intake. The same study showed about 64% of those in Campbell County facing food insecurity are above the SNAP threshold.
“We know that there is an issue, we know that it is our neighbors that are dealing with food insecurity in our county, and that’s why our mission is to help bridge that food insecurity gap, working in tandem with the other resources in Campbell County,” said Megan Taylor, the agency’s finance and development director.
In 2025, that one acre, used as part of a co-share program, produced 7,431 pounds of food that was used in the Edible Prairie Project’s Local Veggie Basket program and another program to provide weekend meals for kids over the summer, as well as charitable gleaning efforts in partnership with local food banks.
It’s aimed at providing nutritious produce to families suffering from food insecurity for four months out of the year, and Campbell County residents can use SNAP or WIC benefits to sign up for the program or pay at a discounted rate if they fall below the MIT Living Wage but do not qualify for federal government assistance.
Baskets can also be purchased normally at full price by any member of the community.
Plans for expansion
With support from the community, Executive Director Erin Galloway said, the nonprofit is working to increase its reach in the next few years. It will create three drip-irrigated high tunnels and an on-site wash and pack facility on the 41 acres of land it had acquired last year for the project.
The high tunnels will allow the organization to grow crops earlier in the spring and later in the fall. It also will protect some of the more fragile summer crops, such as tomatoes and peppers, against Wyoming’s temperamental winds.
Taylor said the establishment of an on-site washing and packaging facility will reduce the amount of travel the vegetables have to undergo before they’re delivered, and the time and energy saved from this step can be put toward other parts of the operation.
“The farm gives us something we simply haven’t had before, the space and infrastructure to grow substantially more food,” Galloway said in a press release. “Those pieces will help us put more farm-grown food into our food access programs.”
The announcement comes after the nonprofit secured $391,879.29 in grants, donations, and in-kind support. This is in addition to $58,566.10 that was previously earmarked for the project.
Both Galloway and Taylor said the project would not have been possible without a strong base of donors across the Campbell County business community which have supported the Edible Prairie Project over the years, as well as partnerships with state programs to secure funding.
“We’ve just had so many contractors submit bids and express interest in projects,” Galloway said. “We’ve just been very fortunate enough to partner with other businesses to help us build this farm. We’re not building it by ourselves, that’s for sure.”
While the organization has raised money for the construction of the building, Taylor said it’s still working to raise funds to install the utilities required for the building. They’re hoping to secure funding in the winter through an end-of-year campaign push, as well as through events such as an annual fundraising dinner on Sept. 19, the Pasta alla Prairie at a local ranch. Tickets are available at givebutter.com/grown-on-the-prairie.
The setup for the farm is underway. A perimeter fence surrounding the 41 acres has already been constructed, and a water well and electrical infrastructure have been set up as well.
Construction will take place over the coming months. The high tunnels already are staked out and should be finished by April next year. Galloway and Taylor said they hope to see the packing and washing facility finished sometime in the 2027 growing season.
In the short term, Taylor said, Edible Prairie Project hopes to double the number of spring baskets it sends out in May, from 25 to 50. Smaller increases in their summer and fall programs are expected as well, and by the end of 2027, they’re hoping for a 25% increase in production compared to this year.
Taylor and Galloway said that once more of the required infrastructure, such as trenching and irrigation, are put in place, the variety of crops will grow.
As the project moves into 2028, more intensive crops, such as asparagus, will also join in the regular harvest cycle.
“We will do some outdoor growing next summer and start developing that soil and doing some cover crops,” Galloway said. “Eventually in the next couple years we will put in a shelterbelt of trees, and then put in an orchard. We’ll do some perennial fruits and vegetables like raspberries and rhubarb and herbs and strawberries, stuff like that, and asparagus, that kind of stuff takes a lot longer to really get into high production.”
Galloway said the nonprofit will also transition out of the co-share acre eventually, although it still plans to use the space next year as staff get things up and running.
“We’re still using the current one-acre co-share program that we’ve been existing with since 2019, and we’ll even continue that next year, just because the soil and everything is good to go,” Galloway said.
They’ll slowly transition out of the co-share, operating in a hybrid model in 2027, she said, and the goal is “to be 100% into our farm by 2028.”
Ultimately, Galloway said that the final produce numbers are mostly dependent on the nonprofit’s budget. The farm will give them the opportunity to provide a lot for those in need, should the community support their efforts.
“We’re going to have to increase our labor force and our staff on the farm side of things, and so it really just depends on funds,” Galloway said. “How much we can serve the community is really dependent upon that.”
Even with all of this work ahead of them, both women shared how excited they were to see what comes next.
“It’s just really exciting to see the prairie turn into a place that’s going to grow tens of thousands of pounds of produce,” Galloway said. “When Megan and I founded this organization, this was always the goal. This was always the direction that we were moving, and to see it come to fruition… is just really exciting. It’s been really amazing to take on this project and to see it come together.”
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