(Hudson, WY) – On Tuesday, County 10 reported about the eviction situation facing the God’s Pantry food bank in Hudson, which stemmed from mounting electric bills from the town-owned building it operates out of, payments for which the Town of Hudson is responsible.
A labor of love and faith for pantry operator Lousie Barker, God’s Pantry serves dozens of those in need each month, whether it’s food, toiletries or other basic necessities, and Pantry workers even deliver these items to folks in other communities.
The situation came to a head at Tuesday night’s (Jan. 14) Hudson Town Council meeting at the Town Hall, where over 40 citizens showed up to see a resolution.
Barker was one of three individuals allotted time in the public comments portion of the meeting, and even though the speakers are normally given 5 minutes to talk per the rules in place for public comments, the discussion lasted around 20 minutes, with many instances of folks interjecting throughout.
In terms of further context, God’s Pantry has been operating out of the old town hall/jail in Hudson for about a year now.
Mayor Oler offered the old building (which is town-owned and was basically serving as storage space without sewage or running water) to Barker and God’s Pantry, after health concerns were raised about the Pantry operating outside. A lease agreement was then signed.
The first electric bill the Town received last January was for $321.11, which prompted Mayor Oler to stipulate that the Pantry’s temperature stay at 50 degrees to maintain the previous bill amounts she says were around $25 a month.
Despite Barker’s efforts (and her later assertions at the meeting that there were issues with the building’s electric meter possibly including the current Town Hall’s electricity usage, which Mayor Oler refuted), the electric bills accrued to $1,081.23 by the end of 2024.
Mayor Oler issued a notice on January 7 informing Barker she had 10 days to pay the bill, or her lease would be terminated, and the Pantry would be evicted. Barker signed the notice paperwork but later noted that she didn’t truly understand the ramifications of what she had signed.
Barker also shared at last night’s meeting that she thought that the original agreement she signed was for $1 a year for 20 years, which Mayor Oler noted was only for one year, when she then proceeded to read the following from the physical lease she had on file.
“In Section 3 on the term and rent, it says lesser demises and leases to lessee the above premises for a term of one year commencing on the execution of this agreement and terminating January 31, 2025, unless sooner terminated by mutual agreement of the parties. If lessee follows all terms and conditions of this lease, she shall have the right to renew the lease for one year periods with the consent of the lessor. Lessee agrees during the term hereof to pay rent in the sum of $1 per year, payable in advance of occupying the realtor.”
“How did I get 20 years?” Barker replied.
“I have no idea where you got that,” Mayor Oler answered.
“I trusted you,” Barker retorted.
“Regardless, this is the document that was negotiated and this was signed by all parties,” Mayor Oler responded.
After more back and forth between the two, Mayor Oler later asked if Barker had a proposal for terms on a new lease, and Barker suggested month-to-month, which Oler said would still need some form of negotiated terms.
Mayor Oler then asked the Council what they wanted to see, with two members noting they “didn’t want to see (God’s Pantry) go away.”
After another short back-and-forth between Mayor Oler and Barker, Oler stated that “the town could no longer support the terms of the lease.”
“There’s a lot to do with public funds going to a private entity, and we need to be very careful about that,” Mayor Oler commented. “I have to be fiscally responsible for the town of Hudson as well.”
As the discussion continued, it was determined that the current bill averaged about $90 a month.
“So the town of Hudson is saying that the needy people in this town who are being served by this entity is not worth $90 a month?” one attendee commented.
“This town is not rich folks,” another attendee shouted after Mayor Oler reiterated that “it’s an expense that the town is not able to afford.”
Following more discussion about potential solutions from other attendees, with a few residents even offering their own time/money/resources, another voice rose from the crowd.
“Can I, can I speak for you?” the man asked Barker. “Hi, I’m just going to speak for Louise for a moment because there’s some new information that perhaps most of the people don’t know here.”
The man introduced himself as Quincy OrHai.
“You’ve probably seen the fresh raw goat milk signs (in town). That’s the fresh raw goat milk lady right there,” Quincy said, gesturing to his wife. “We learned about this a few days ago and we were able to get some other people to help. We’re trying to work on making this so that God’s Pantry is a little better funded.”
“God’s Pantry now has a corporate status as a non-profit in Wyoming, and it is registered with the IRS. There is an application for 501(c)(3) status, which, as a food bank, it’s almost certain to receive,” Quincy shared with the crowd.
“Anyone that wants to donate to God’s Pantry, I want to point your attention to that QR code that I stuck up on the wall there. That will take you to a crowdfunding site and if you have payment abilities on your phone, you can make a donation.” That QR code is shared below.
“Right there at the top of the QR code is the address for God’s Pantry if you want to mail a check,” Quincy added, and also shared that Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union in Lander is also taking donations for the pantry. “They know all about this, and you can say, “Here’s $20 for God’s pantry,” and it’ll go right in.”
Meridian Trust in Lander is located at 873 Main Street.
“So we are going to raise the money to be able to pay for the utilities,” Quincy continued. “I’d also like to say that it’s pretty much everyone’s consensus that we’d like to have a better location. So I want to ask y’alls help in finding a better location for God’s Pantry, which will be the ultimate solution to this problem.”
“Because right now, we’re trying to run a pantry out of a storage spot that doesn’t have a bathroom, is obviously not well insulated, there’s all kinds of utility issues. So the big solution in the long term is to find a better location for God’s Pantry.”
“I just want to assure the council here that at this time, God’s Pantry does have some pledges to be able to pay the electric bill at least,” Quincy continued. “I think that that’s the crux of the problem. If we could all agree on solving the crux of the problem, then we could move forward with a positive solution, which I would suggest to the council is to agree to an extension of the rental on a monthly basis and put the meter in God’s Pantry’s name. So that way, it’s not a problem for y’all, and then we’ll work on getting a better place.”
Following more cheers from the crowd, a motion was then made and unanimously approved to extend the current lease agreement for $1 a month, on a month-to-month basis, until a new location is found, and the utilities would now be in God’s Pantry’s name.
“Well, I’ve got a question for you. If it was a dollar a year, does that mean it’s 8 cents a month?” Quincy then joked as the motion was being discussed before all agreed on the $1-a-month rate.
“Does that mean we’re done with God’s Pantry and we can all go home now?” Quincy half-jokingly asked after the resolution was passed, at which point about 30+ people who came to support the Pantry got up and left the meeting.
In addition to the QR code and in-person payment options mentioned above, folks can also make a donation here.
The current address for God’s Pantry is 308 South Oklahoma, P.O. box 272.
God’s Pantry is open Mondays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 12 PM, and from 3 to 6 PM.
God’s Pantry can be reached at (307) 840-4205.
The Town of Hudson can be reached at (307) 332-3605.