When the pandemic struck Northeast Wisconsin, it was difficult for area nonprofits to keep their doors open – “but they still had to service people,” said Jodie Larsen, Vice President of Community Engagement for Oshkosh Corporation. Many of these organizations were turning to funders in the area with requests for necessities like PPE (personal protective equipment).

“We said, ‘How do we manage to get through all this?’ We were all getting the same requests,” Jodie said. “We knew that we could work through more problems if we worked together and worked with the organizations, whether it be Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin or other organizations.”

So Oshkosh Corporation and other regional companies, such as U.S. Venture, J. J. Keller & Associates, and Kimberly-Clark, put their minds together to coordinate on the items they could supply. “Then Valley Packaging Industries (VPI) raised their hand and said ‘we can store these items for you and distribute it as well.’ We needed that partner. That’s how the Northeast Wisconsin Funders Group began.”

The Northeast Wisconsin Funders Group quickly evolved into “a forum for educating ourselves and learning about the issues that our communities are facing,” Jodie said, including how food pantries are impacted by changes in government funding, and “how we can continue to make sure that our neighbors have the food they need.” The group meets once a month, drawing 25 to 30 attendees at each meeting. This August, the Funders Group visited Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to learn more about Map the Meal Gap, a study done by Feeding America’s National Office that shows where areas of hunger and food insecurity affect local populations – and they also returned to pack food as volunteers.

Even prior to the pandemic, Oshkosh Corporation has been a strong partner of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, working with the organization to create the tremendous Feed the Body, Feed the Soul event. During the event, over 1,000 volunteers package 105 tons of rice in only 12 hours.

The event developed after The Oshkosh Corporation Foundation reviewed its structure around giving, including finding better ways to support youth, and zeroed in on United Way’s ALICE rate – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – essentially, those who are working but struggle to afford basic expenses.

“We saw that the communities where we live and work have high ALICE rates,” Jodie said. “And so that, in turn, led us to looking at basic needs, which is very simply food and shelter.” The event brings in live music – most recently, NEW Dueling Pianos – to provide entertainment for volunteers while they’re working for
a good cause and learning about the need to combat hunger in Eastern Wisconsin.

“It’s been a great event for us because we’re able to bring in companies from the community to help purchase the bulk rice for packing,” Jodie said. “And then in turn they get to bring their team members to volunteer and package the foods, so it’s a win-win for both sides.”

“When you’re a volunteer, you’re going to learn more about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, which hopefully will lead to future donors,” Jodie said.

Over the past seven years, Oshkosh Corporation has enlisted 6,200 volunteers and packed 1,258,700 pounds of rice. And after this year’s hugely successful seventh event in September, the company is taking it on the road, replicating the program with other food banks across the United States.