Providing Dollars to Do More

While many of us hold onto an overwhelming optimism that life will soon return to something closer to the “normal” of pre-pandemic days, we continue to see supply chain issues and inflation. This landscape creates new challenges and increases the need for support of Feeding
America Eastern Wisconsin and our network.

Thanks to the continued investment from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and America Rescue
Plan Act funding, we were given dollars to do even more to meet the increased need. Funding was used to provide food and improve the processes at the pantry level for distributing that food.

With a goal of providing high-quality food to food-insecure Wisconsin residents, we work with local food producers and manufacturers whenever possible. To ensure we are meeting the specific needs of the communities we serve, we asked our network pantry partners to provide specific information about what food was culturally appropriate for the guests they serve and used that as our guide when purchasing. Through the first half of 2022, we have been able to purchase nearly $3.5 million worth of produce and other healthy foods to provide through our network partners to neighbors in need.

Beyond food, we are helping our partners to build their capacity so they can better serve the increased number of individuals experiencing hunger. We hosted multiple listening sessions where pantry partners could learn about the opportunities for funding and how to apply. Wanting to be sure we were selecting applications that would have the greatest impact, we carefully evaluated applications and prioritized them based on the need in that specific county and what other resources were available to them. After working closely with our partner pantries to assess their requests and needs, of the nearly 100 that applied, fewer than five didn’t receive funding to further their mission and improve their capacity to serve.

American Rescue Plan Act funding awarded to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin provided over $2.5 million to food pantry relief efforts. Network partners received items such as box trucks, electrical system upgrades, forklifts, warehouse machinery, computers, and generators.
Jeff Berard, the Director of the Journey Disaster Relief Team in Racine, WI, received funding for new dry goods shelving, a built-in freezer that can store large quantities of frozen foods, and a vehicle to help deliver packaged food boxes to the community. Berard’s pantry team now has the equipment to triple their distribution and provide more well-rounded items.

“We had a refrigerated box truck and a whole bunch of personal vehicles,” Berard says, recalling how they distributed food to the community in 2020. “We had a lot of volunteers who had the passion to go and help people. Without our partnership with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did.”

Before the freezer was installed, Berard’s team was only offering shelf-stable food to families. Now, they are able to pack fresh and frozen food into those boxes, while properly and safely storing them for distribution. Once again Berard and his team are increasing their positive impact on the health and nutrition of their neighbors in need.