Slow Food in Fremont County

General Operating Support from the Wyoming Community Foundation

Fremont Endowment Fund and the Dudley Creek Fund

This story is from our Spring 2026 newsletter. See the full newsletter here!

Fremont County residents have long fought a battle similar to any resident of Wyoming; the
nourishing food from the local farmer’s market lasts only a few short summer months, but the need for it persists throughout the year.

A Lander-based group set out to change that.

In October 2023, Slow Food Wind River (SFWR) began operating with the goal to bring “good, clean, and fair” food for all. It was important to the founders of SFWR to help those experiencing food insecurity while supporting local farmers and ranchers.

Thanks to your support, grants from the Wyoming Community Foundation (WYCF) help SFWR operate Meadowlark Market & Kitchen. With that support, SFWR connects Wyoming farmers and producers with people in Fremont County through highquality, local goods.

Meadowlark Market & Kitchen is a brick-and-mortar located in an old café in Lander with a fully licensed commissary kitchen.

“We saw a local food market being one of the missing factors of what we wanted in the town that we lived in,” said one of the founding board members, Hannah Darrin. “It was important to us to have access to good food and to foster community building around food.”

At Meadowlark, shoppers can buy local groceries and producers earn money for items sold, strengthening local and regional food systems. SFWR staff wanted Meadowlark to be a one-stopshop, or “farm stop”: a place where you can get all you need while having a pleasant grocery experience.

Shoppers can find local meat, cheese, milk, produce, flowers, and more. The market recently started carrying wholesale beans and grains year-round to help fill in gaps during the offseason.

The kitchen is a shared-use space used for food preparation, rental, and community classes and aids a critical mission of SFWR.

“There are generally 1-2 classes a month hosted at Meadowlark Kitchen with the goal of food and nutrition education for adults,” said Hannah. “These classes often sell out and teach anything from making your own kimchi to preparing and cooking an entire chicken.”

Funding from WYCF makes more projects possible.

Last year SFWR hosted a harvest festival, which included tours of local farms with activities and education along the way.

“This event was important for our community,” said Hannah. “It gave people a chance to shake hands with their farmer and learn how food ends up on their table.”

The work of SFWR is ongoing, and staff hope to create change in their community and help build a resilient food system in Fremont County.

“Right now in our society, there is a disconnect between people and where their food comes from,” said Hannah.

“I think the ability to humanize our food system and meet either the animals or the land that our food is grown or raised on is a transformative experience for people.”