From Wheatland Electric
Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc. (WEC) announced today that St. John’s Episcopal Church has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the WEC Sharing Success Fund to help support its Feed the Children Program, which provides food assistance to at-risk children during school breaks throughout the year.
St. John’s Episcopal Church established the Feed the Children Program to help families struggling to meet their children’s breakfast and lunch needs when school is not in session. While school-based meal programs provide vital support during the academic year, gaps often remain during spring, summer, and winter breaks. The church stepped in to help cover those gaps.
Through partnerships with KCSL–Healthy Families, St. John’s Episcopal Church identifies families in need and provides food boxes during seven weeks each year, including summer break, winter break, and spring break. In recent distributions, the program has supported up to 13 families and nearly 30 children during a single school break, with participation continuing to grow. For the five weeks of food distributions in 2025, the program spent more than $3,300. The Sharing Success grant will help offset food costs and allow the church to continue serving families during critical times when other resources may be limited.
By supporting the Feed the Children Program, the grant helps reduce stress for families, strengthens community partnerships, and ensures children have access to nutritious food when school is not in session. The program reflects St. John’s Episcopal Church’s ongoing commitment to caring for neighbors and supporting the well-being of children and families in the Great Bend area.
The Scott Community Foundation began formally accepting applications for grants from the WEC Sharing Success Fund from community-based organizations on December 1, 2012. Since then, the application process has been moved internally and is currently handled directly by
WEC. This year, WEC and CoBank have each contributed $15,000 to the fund. The program will continue to run until the funds are exhausted. Since 2012, WEC’s Sharing Success Fund has made $225,000 available to community-based organizations and projects across their service territory.
Community based organizations interested in receiving funding from the WEC Sharing Success Fund can apply online at https://www.weci.net/sharing-success-program. Questions should be referred to Alli Conine, director of member services & corporate communications, at 620-874-4563 or aconine@weci.net.
About Wheatland Electric
Our Mission: Delivering Energy for Life – Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc., a member owned distribution cooperative headquartered in Scott City, Kans., was established in 1948 as a distribution and power cooperative, in the state of Kansas. Today, Wheatland Electric serves more than 33,000 electric meters in 14 Kansas counties and 3 Colorado counties and maintains over 4,000 miles of distribution power lines across southwest and central Kansas and eastern Colorado. Together, with the help of our members, we are committed to building a better and stronger rural America. Visit www.weci.net for more information.