JACKSON, Wyo. — This summer marks the beginning of a new partnership between Central Wyoming College (CWC) in Jackson and One22 Resource Center with the rollout of Community Eats — an initiative aimed at making healthy, affordable cooking more accessible.
With grocery costs soaring and nearly 10% of Teton County residents facing food insecurity, the two well-known organizations joined forces to develop recipes utilizing inexpensive, basic pantry items that can often be found at One22’s food pantry, the Jackson Cupboard. The alliance, called Community Eats: Collaborative Cooking with Pantry Staples, grew from an idea first discussed in 2024 between One22 Individual Giving Manager Lina Collado and CWC Director of Hospitality and Culinary Programs Justin Stone. The pair initially had some ambitious concepts like creating a full-size cookbook or throwing a big community event, but when they found themselves in the weeds with details, they knew they needed to simplify.
“That led us down this pathway and this collaboration of working on a collection of recipes inspired by common ingredients from the shelf, especially from some of these entities, like the Cupboard,” Stone told Buckrail. “So we pivoted a little bit; I wouldn’t say scaled back, but we really went back to the basics of, ‘let’s develop recipes first and see where this goes.'”
The official public launch of the partnership will take place at two upcoming free events: at the Teton County Library on Monday, July 20, from 2 to 5 p.m. and at the Teton County/Jackson Community Recreation Center on Tuesday, July 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. Stone described the events as little tasters. Stone, Collado, a CWC chef and representatives from One22 will be present at each event to discuss the initiative, the recipes and other resources. Like at a grocery store sample stand, attendees will have the chance to try a morsel of a selected, premade recipe. Recipe cards will be available to all, and the first 50 attendees at each event will receive a bag with all of the ingredients to make the sampled dish.
Over the last 10 months, CWC and One22 have created 12 original recipes: four breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners. CWC chefs and One22 staff developed the recipes, which were then tested by CWC and One22 staff, hospitality students from Jackson Hole High School and Summit Innovations School, CWC-Jackson adjunct chef instructors, and community members. Recipe cards will be available in both English and Spanish, and will soon be accessible online.
“It was really cool to have them be thinking culturally — thinking, ‘Different people with different languages and different backgrounds’ — and create these 12,” Collado told Buckrail. “Which I thought represents our community in a beautiful way.”
The recipe development process began with determining which ingredients to highlight. Stone and Collado wanted to steer away from specialty ingredients that might not have as many uses as, say, a can of beans. They started by making a list of popular products on the shelves of Jackson Cupboard, and they even dug through the depths of their own home pantries to see what could inspire a tasty and nutritious meal. Collado said one of the recipes is a “really delicious” dish made with canned chicken, and there’s a breakfast technique using egg cups.
A joint press release from CWC and One22 states that the initiative reflects a “shared commitment to reducing barriers to healthy meals while celebrating creativity, sustainability and community connection.” Collado acknowledged that there is often a stigma that comes with experiencing food insecurity, and she is looking forward to getting people excited and empowered to try a new recipe. Stone said that a priority in the project was to create recipes that would inspire and interest people, and that meant keeping techniques simple enough for any level of home cook to grasp.
Aside from sharing resources and referrals, this is the first direct partnership between the two long-established institutions. Stone said it is certainly the first collaboration of its kind for CWC’s hospitality and culinary program. Stone and Collado also see the alliance as a way to connect with more members of the Teton County community, especially future CWC students and future One22 clients.
There are no concrete plans yet for the future, with summer engagements and Old Bill’s on the horizon. The organizers are interested to hear community feedback and gauge local interest in future joint efforts that could possibly engage the restaurant industry. CWC’s Jackson campus and full culinary facility is scheduled to be complete sometime this fall, and Stone looks forward to hosting events and learning opportunities in the new kitchen.
