The covid-19 pandemic has fostered many new connections for us in Southwest Wisconsin
At the start of the pandemic, we searched for more ways to support our community while people faced additional barriers to accessing fresh local foods. As new needs arose, we began extending our previous delivery route, adding eight additional drop-sites.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of extra costs associated with adding partners. These costs come from the increase in employee time needed to coordinate additional resources with more partners, an increase in wear and tear on equipment, additional supplies used for distribution, and now, the rising costs of gasoline, which has almost doubled since December 2020. As a Hunger Relief Federation partner organization, Community Hunger Solutions is committed to providing these resources to all partners free of charge. Basically, the number of partners that we work with has risen and the funding that we receive to provide our services has not. We’ve adapted to meet the needs of pantries before, and now is the time to adapt again.
Today we will highlight Northern Grant Food Pantry, one pantry that has found great value in our available food resources - but where we no longer have the operating capital to continue deliveries…
Northern Grant County Food Pantry in Boscobel has been in operation for over ten years, and has partnered with CHS to receive organic dairy and produce since 2020.
Boscobel is not located near any big cities, and the town itself has access to one privately owned grocery store. With the limited selection of foods available and barriers that the community faces to affordable food, Boscobel and the city’s surrounding residents are in high need of the pantry.
Each month they serve about 350 households in Grant County along with an additional 200 households that are not registered. Almost one in ten people in Grant County are food insecure, with the child food insecurity rate at 14.9%. Besides the food pantry, there are not many options for community members that rely on these resources. Many of their clients do not have access to organic vegetables and dairy without our deliveries.
CHS is unique in that we do not charge any of our partners for our services. We seek out grants to cover our costs, partner with like minded local businesses like Organic Valley, and receive donations from the public. We also have a wonderful crew of volunteers who are passionate about getting food out to people who need it.
Join us! We’re looking for volunteer drivers to deliver local food to Northern Grant Food Pantry.
Orders will be put together before you arrive. All you have to do is load up, and enjoy the drive through the rolling driftless hills as you get food out to your community. Reach out to Jeanette with questions or to sign up at jeanette@community-hunger-solutions.org.