The past two years have brought a great deal of disruption and change to everyone in our community including the people who MOM serves and to our organization. In March of 2020, we pivoted quickly, making significant changes to our operations in a very short amount of time to keep our community safe during the Covid pandemic, while continuing to provide services to those who needed them.

In the more than two years since we first adjusted our service model, we have continued to think creatively and strategically. We have implemented new processes, listened even more carefully to our community, and explored options we may never have thought about otherwise. We now know Covid is not going away and we may need to continue to be flexible for the foreseeable future. However, over the past few months, we have carefully and thoughtfully considered what we have learned and how we can best put those lessons into practice. This time we don’t have to pivot overnight. We are able to move forward with a timeline that allows us to make strategic decisions to create a model that delivers the greatest impact.

Expanding our Services

We are excited to share some information about how our services will be expanding next month, drawing on the best parts of our pre-Covid model and integrating it with the best parts of our new model to come up with a system that will serve our community better than ever before.

During Covid, we closed the Food Pantry to in-person shopping, focusing instead on a drive-thru service model and volunteer drivers to deliver food to those who could not get to us.  Both of these relied on a menu system, allowing neighbors to select from a list of food that included fresh fruits and vegetables, proteins, bread, milk, personal essentials and other items. This worked efficiently and we never had to turn anyone away. We found that for some of our neighbors this model actually worked better than our previous in-person model. Other neighbors have been eagerly waiting to come back to the Food Pantry in person so that they can make selections themselves from a wider variety of items. We are thrilled to share that in-person shopping will be returning starting in July. We will phase it in, beginning on July 13th with the Food Pantry open to in-person shopping on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. We will also continue deliveries and drive-thru service. In the weeks that follow, we will be adding more days of in-person shopping. The Clothing Center service will also be expanding to offer drop-in times. Please check our online calendar to verify current times. We appreciate the help of Public Health Madison & Dane County for consulting with us on our Covid procedures to help keep our community safe.

Both the Food Pantry and Clothing Center will be open to anyone living in Dane County. Certification is not required for the Food Pantry or Clothing Center. However, we do encourage neighbors to meet with a MOM case manager to become certified and eligible for other programs we offer.

The need for housing assistance has increased significantly during the past two years and our programs have also expanded to meet that need. This has included adding our new Connections program which addresses people living in doubled up housing. We have been meeting in person to provide housing assistance for many months now while continuing to offer virtual appointments to those who prefer them.

You Can Help with Cans of Hope

We appreciate the generous support we have received from the community throughout the pandemic. As we expand our services to better serve our community, we are asking for your support again. For the past two years, we relied on a limited food donation model, asking people to provide items from our Top 10 most needed list. With people returning to in-person shopping at the Food Pantry, we need to  restock our shelves with a wide variety of food. You can help by participating in Cans of Hope. Here’s how:

1. Donate food. Although we will continue to have a top 10 list highlighting our most pressing needs, we will now be accepting many more items besides those on the top 10 list. We are accepting non-perishable food, personal care items and fresh produce.

Beginning July 1, we will be expanding our donation hours. Check our website and social media for the new days and times. In addition, we are holding a Cans of Hope Drop-off Day on Monday, June 27 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Stop by to drop off your food donation, take a photo with the MOM truck, meet staff and learn more about our work. For the rest of June during our cans of Hope campaign, food donations will be accepted during our regular drop off times in the distribution center or in the front office any time we are open.

If you are doing a food drive, please contact us in advance so that we can plan and work with you to make the drive successful.

        2. Purchase a Can of Hope. Monetary donations will also help us purchase the food we need to restock the shelves. Our relationships with community partners mean we can purchase some items at reduced prices. Give now and increase your impact. Thanks to generous MOM supporters, Terry and Bob Smith, donations up to $10,000 will be matched. Make a donation of $50 or more to receive a Can of Hope postcard in the mail and have one posted on a wall inside the Food Pantry with your name on it. We are excited to fill this wall with colorful postcards that will represent the support and care of our community.

On Thursday, June 2,  MOM was delighted to return to Lakeview Park in Middleton for the first Volunteer Appreciation Picnic since 2019. Volunteers, their guests, and MOM staff enjoyed a relaxed evening in the newly renovated park shelter that included a delicious Middleton BBQ and “Moose” catered picnic, an assortment of yard games (Giant Jenga, Kerplunk!, Connect 4, Bean Bag Toss, and Bocce), and time to mix and mingle with each other. A brief program of appreciation concluded with a special message from MOM Executive Director, Ellen Carlson. We are grateful to volunteers who make our work possible.

As we wrap up our six-part series in celebration of National Volunteer Month and roll into summer, it is most fitting that we recognize the volunteers who support our gardening program.

MOM operates three gardens; the MOM Family Garden, the Melon Patch on Capitol View and the garden behind the distribution center. Each garden serves a unique role in fulfillment of our mission. For example, the Family Garden is a teaching garden. Here, clients and their families can be assigned their own row where they learn how to grow food with support from volunteer mentors. Children learn composting, small space gardening, and natural weed control. The other two gardens are used to grow fresh produce that is made available to all we serve through our food distribution program and seasonal Farmer’s Market sessions. These gardens are managed by volunteers. Though we have some volunteers who are master gardeners, garden volunteers are not necessarily skilled gardeners, rather they just need to be passionate about learning along with the clients. Willingness to get dirty and work in the natural elements while working side-by-side with clients reflects the spirit of these special volunteers.

A total of 18 volunteers support our gardening program. Over the last 5 years (2017-2021), volunteers served nearly 3,500 hours in support of the MOM pantry gardens. In 2021 alone, 759 hours were donated. Individuals and groups keep this work moving forward under the direction of one of our Food Security Managers and our lead volunteer, Dan.

Dan is a tireless and dedicated volunteer who coordinates all garden activities from seed to harvest. These activities include securing seeds, starting them, arranging tillage, purchasing supplies and scheduling volunteers for planting, maintenance and harvest. Dan most enjoys getting to know clients and fellow volunteers. “Interacting with others, both clients and volunteers, is the most fun”. Dan feels a sense of satisfaction knowing that the vegetables go directly to a family’s table.

In addition to learning about gardening, clients have opportunities to learn about the produce that is harvested each year. Lisa is a volunteer who works directly with clients to help them identify the various vegetables and explain how they can be prepared and integrated into delicious menu items. Families share recipes to use the abundance of produce that comes from the gardens. Like Dan, Lisa finds a strong sense of satisfaction from the work and the camaraderie with the clients. She especially enjoys the connection with nature. “There is something soothing and calming about working in the garden.”