MILWAUKEE (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Food pantries in Wisconsin are bracing for another surge as federal unemployment benefits run out.
Just north of downtown Milwaukee they are stocking a freezer full of meat at WestCare Wisconsin.
This nonprofit community organization holds "pantry day" every Wednesday, handing out healthy food to people in need. The COVID-19 pandemic doubled the amount they bring in. WestCare went from using a commercial truck to haul in food to receiving deliveries from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in a semi trailer.
Program Director Felicia Williams said they have a process in place and know how to adapt to a higher demand for food.
"We gotta increase it which means, ‘Okay, we have to get more volunteers.’"
WestCare gets a bulk of its food supply from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. The organization serves 35 counties in the state, including the Green Bay area. During the pandemic, the number of people visiting its food pantries has gone from around 400,000 to more than 550,000.
“It's all about how we adapt and how we react,” VP of Development and Communications Scott Marshall said.
Adapting is what the organization did back in March when the effects of COVID-19 first hit.
Marshall pointed out, "We all know it's going to be a marathon so we have to think long-term."
The pandemic has Feeding Wisconsin's food pantries seeing many people for the first time.
"They've seen so many new faces, and so many folks are scared [...] You know you might have an idea in your head of where hunger lives but hunger is everywhere," Marshall said.
He said if the need continues to go up, they are ready.
"Our job is to make sure anyone who asks for food will receive food,” he said. “So we know that we will figure it out."
Food banks in Madison are also preparing. Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin has been stockpiling non-perishables and frozen food for the last month to get ahead of the need.
A spokesperson said they don't expect their full warehouse to stay that way for long.
Back at WestCare, new faces are the new norm.
"We just had a [pantry day] two days ago and had 102 new people," Williams shared.
On pantry day, she encourages everyone to grab a flyer with the dates WestCare is handing out food.
"You never know who's hungry, take a flyer, share it, because a lot of times people don't speak up and say that they're hungry."
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin said right now the best way to help is to donate money. They are using those donations to buy large quantities of shelf stable food.
How to donate:
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin: https://feedingamericawi.org/donate-now/
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin: https://www.secondharvestmadison.org/donation-pages/donate
WestCare Wisconsin: https://westcare.com/page/get-involved_01