By Nicholas Garton, Cap Times
Food pantry use is at an all-time high, according to representatives of six pantries across Dane County.
Representatives from St. Vincent De Paul, River Food Pantry, Goodman Community Center, Badger Prairie Needs Network, Sun Prairie Food Pantry and Middleton’s WayForward Resources say that demand for food has risen by 112% over the past two years.
The food pantries are struggling to keep up with the rising demand because charitable giving has waned in recent years and pandemic-era assistance has ended, the organizations said in a joint press release.
The 112% increase represents the average increase in the number of household visits across the six Dane County pantries between December 2021 and December 2023.
“We have never turned anyone away, but we have had to put some limits on the amount of food people can take,” Ellen Carlson, executive director for WayForward Resources, formerly Middleton Outreach Ministry, said in the news release. “We worry about how we and other local food pantries can continue to ensure that everyone in our community has access to nutritious food.”
WayForward provides a food pantry as well as housing supports in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District and the west side of Madison.
Last spring, pandemic-era support provided by the federal government ran out. This, combined with inflation and rising housing costs, has created a situation where families are straining to keep their children and themselves fed.
“In the past four years, we’ve felt the impact of a pandemic, inflation, high housing costs and increased migration,” said Tracy Burton, director of the Badger Prairie Needs Network Food Pantry. “All of these combined have resulted in over five times the number of visits to our pantry from pre-pandemic levels.”
Badger Prairie Needs Network provided food assistance to 81,000 people in 2023.
Rhonda Adams, executive director of the River Food Pantry, said the number of households in need began growing steadily over the past few years and then surged when most pandemic relief programs phased out last year, resulting in over 276,000 visits by households in need of groceries and meals in 2023 alone.
“Food insecurity is a communal issue, even if we may not always recognize when it is affecting our friends and neighbors, and support from the broader community will continue to be essential to successfully addressing it,” Adams said in the release.
River Food Pantry received $1.5 million from Dane County in 2023 to aid with its expansion to a new 25,000-square-foot space to help keep up with local demand.
The consumer price index remains about 20% higher than it was before the pandemic, and housing costs in Dane County have soared with the Madison area experiencing some of the nation’s steepest rent increases since the pandemic started.
“Many of our customers are people who are employed full-time and finding it necessary to choose between paying bills and buying food,” said Francesca Frisque, Goodman Community Center food pantry assistant director.
This puts a burden on food pantries to remain fully stocked because none is willing to reject people in need.
“We won’t turn anyone away, and we’re spending more money each month to make sure our shelves are stocked,” said Catie Badsing, manager of food security programs at the Sun Prairie Food Pantry.
According to a Census Pulse Household Survey, more than 8% of employed adults in Wisconsin live in food insecure homes — meaning they don’t know if they’ll be able to afford future meals.
“We continue to respond to escalating pantry need with a variety of food options so people and families don’t have to choose between paying rent and buying groceries,” said Chris Kane, senior director of client services at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
St. Vinny’s representatives told the Cap Times they served 24,764 total households in 2022 and that number rose to 33,088 for 2023.
“We’re thankful for so many generous partners throughout the community,” Frisque said. “Even still, we’re not seeing as many donations come in, and we’re having a hard time keeping our shelves stocked.”
“Without help from the community, we wouldn’t be able to meet the needs of our Madison neighbors.”