Feed the Body, Feed the Soul Stocks Local Pantries

At the third annual Feed the Body, Feed the Soul bulk repack event sponsored by Oshkosh Corporation, roughly 900 volunteers gathered at the Menominee Nation Arena to pack staple foods for local pantries while listening to live music.

Volunteers from Oshkosh Corporation, schools, local companies and the community joined Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin staff to make this a record-breaking year. Volunteers packed more than 200,000 pounds of pasta, rice, and beans over a 12-hour period.

“It’s about moving food into the hunger relief system on a very enormous scale, but it’s also about connecting community so that everyone can understand the issue of hunger and how big it is, how important it is so we can all get our hands in, to solve the issue,” said Patti Habeck, president of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

The event ended with a celebratory concert open to the public (for a donation of $5) featuring the band Mistrial. Volunteers returned to enjoy the music and reflect on the impact they made earlier in the day. The food packed in the arena will be distributed to local hunger-relief programs that serve the one in seven people in eastern Wisconsin facing hunger.

Additional sponsors for the event included Ahern, Miron Construction, U.S. Venture, Werner Electric Supply, Nicolet National Bank, and Associated Bank. In-kind sponsors included Penske (trucks to transport goods) and the Herd (use of the arena for packing).

The fourth annual event promises to be bigger and better. Oshkosh Corporation and the local community continue to show their dedication to the Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin mission to solve hunger.