EWC Graduate Leads Effort to Provide Thanksgiving Meals for Local Families

TORRINGTON, Wyo. – When Malik Frederick stepped forward to help eight Goshen County families put a Thanksgiving meal on their tables this year, he wasn’t thinking about recognition. He was thinking about the days when he and his own family once wondered where their next meal would come from.

Frederick, a 2023 Eastern Wyoming College graduate and former Lancer basketball player, led a collaborative community effort through Number 34, the local nonprofit where he now works with youth who face challenges at school or at home. The organization also provides support to families struggling to meet basic needs, a mission that echoes Frederick’s own heart.

Now the assistant men’s basketball coach at Torrington High School and head coach of the Trailblazers freshman men’s team, Frederick reached out to someone he trusted to help him take the project further, Eastern Wyoming College Student Success and Training Center Director Sergio Mendez. Mendez connected him with the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, led by First Lady Jennie Gordon, which stepped in to provide funding.

“Nourished kids, healthy families, and thriving communities: that’s the goal of Wyoming Hunger Initiative,” the organization states on its website, a mission Frederick and Number 34 share.

“The whole staff at Number 34 helped make this happen,” Frederick said.

With financial support secured, Frederick partnered with Fresh Foods in Torrington to assemble full Thanksgiving meals for eight families identified as being in need. For him, it was more than a service project, it was personal.

“This is something I have wanted to do since I was in high school,” he said. “Being one of those families myself, looking for food, when my boss, Chad Bates at Number 34, asked me to take the lead, it was a no-brainer.”

Frederick grew up in Columbus, Ohio, before coming to Eastern Wyoming College to play basketball. After earning his associate degree, he continued his athletic and academic career at NCAA Division II Malone University, graduating in May. Instead of heading somewhere new, he returned to Torrington.

“Malik’s goal is to start a foundation one day,” Mendez said. “Helping him make the right connections is a real joy.”

Frederick sees the project as a true team effort.

“We (Number 34, Wyoming Hunger Initiative, EWC, and Fresh Foods) were all involved in making this happen,” he said. “It truly takes a village.”

Because of that village, eight families will gather around their Thanksgiving tables this year and enjoy a full meal.