When so much feels uncertain and unsettled, choose to be a source of stability in our community. Your support prevents eviction and provides food access.
After two difficult years that included a life-threatening health episode requiring surgery, as well as bullying at school, Felix and Veronica’s family was finally finding its footing. Both parents were working full-time, and they had moved into a new apartment and school district for a fresh start. Their children, Lily and Mia, were doing well at their new school, and the entire family found a sense of belonging in the community. For the first time in a while, things felt more stable.
Then Felix was injured in an accident. His injuries forced him to take unpaid leave — and just like that, the family went from barely making it on two incomes to not being able to cover rent. That’s when they found WayForward Resources. They were connected with a case manager who provided financial assistance to cover part of the month’s rent, helping them get through this temporary loss of income and stay in their home.
But Felix’s recovery stalled, and his unpaid leave grew longer. Veronica was stretched impossibly thin — working, caring for the kids, and managing the household. There was no way she could take on a second job. Even their teen Lily tried to pick up work to help, but her own chronic health condition made it unsustainable.
Their WayForward case manager continued to be a source of support. She helped them brainstorm ways to reduce expenses and increase income, referred them to potential resources, and explained how they worked. She also encouraged them to use the WayForward Food Pantry as often as needed, freeing up their limited budget for rent and health care.
For some families, one-time financial assistance through our Housing Stability program is enough to get through a crisis and avoid the trauma of eviction. But for others, maintaining stability is an ongoing challenge, and programs like our food pantry provide life-sustaining support by preventing hunger and enabling funds to be allocated to housing and medicine.
With WayForward experiencing the highest demand for our food and housing services in our over 45-year history, your support is needed now more than ever.
Our food pantry is seeing four times as many visits as it did four years ago, and some of our housing programs have a continuous waiting list. Wages simply are not keeping up with rising grocery and housing costs. Going forward, keeping up with the cost of living will remain challenging for Veronica and Felix’s family. But with your partnership, WayForward was there for them during a time of crisis, helping prevent the trauma of hunger and homelessness. When we work together, we can make an impact—we can ensure our neighbors have access to safe, stable housing and enough nutritious food.
Felix and Veronica’s story isn’t over — and neither is WayForward’s commitment to them.
Your support makes it possible for us to keep creating stability for families like theirs right here in our community—now, and for the future.
Join us in building a strong community where everyone has enough food to eat and a warm place to sleep. Donate today to make a difference. Thank you!
* Representative names and photos have been used, and identifying details changed, to protect client confidentiality.
This morning, six of the largest food pantries in Dane County–Badger Prairie Needs Network, Goodman Community Center, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Sunshine Place, The River Food Pantry and WayForward Resources–gathered at Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin for an exciting delivery! This marks a new bulk order process, representing a new and creative approach to working together to meet growing community needs. This initial shipment of 20 tons of beef, ordered through Second Harvest, will be distributed across our six pantries and made available to neighbors experiencing food insecurity throughout Dane County.
Local food pantries are facing sustained, unprecedented demand. Many are now serving two to four times as many households as just a few years ago. This increase is driven by several factors, including population growth, rising food costs, and, most significantly, the sharp increase in housing expenses. As more families struggle to keep up with basic needs, food pantries are playing an increasingly critical role in filling the gap. Recent and anticipated reductions in federal support, including SNAP and Medicaid, are expected to place even greater pressure on both families and the emergency food system
At the same time, traditional free food supply sources have not kept pace with this surge in demand. As a result, pantries are relying more heavily on purchased food to keep shelves stocked. This challenge brought our organizations together to explore whether buying in bulk could reduce costs and increase the total amount of food available to the community. As we began developing this approach, the Dan & Patti Rashke (TASC) Family Foundation stepped forward with a generous investment to support this pilot effort. Today’s delivery is made possible through their commitment to innovative solutions to significant community issues.
“The Dan & Patti Rashke (TASC) Family Foundation is excited to support the collective as they take a coordinated approach to meeting community needs,” said Abby Schulz, Community Investment Administrator at the Dan & Patti Rashke (TASC) Family Foundation. “We believe in giving nonprofits the space to try new approaches and build on what works, and hope efforts like this encourage others to lean in and support creative solutions across our community.”
Over the coming months, our group of six food pantries in partnership with Second Harvest will continue to pilot and refine this collaboration. We look forward to identifying meaningful ways for the community to support and strengthen this work in the future. In the meantime, we hope you will continue to support the individual needs of members of our group for both additional space and for additional financial means to provide food to meet the increased demand we are all facing.
In honor of Black History Month and a century of Black history commemorations, WayForward is highlighting the incredible impact and legacy of four Black leaders in food security and housing stability.
Representative Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) spent her storied political career fighting for food access, racial justice, voting rights, women’s rights, and much more. Through her advocacy to expand federal food & unemployment assistance, Chisholm changed the lives of countless American families.
Chisholm was the first Black woman to run for President, and the first Black woman ever elected to US Congress. She represented New York’s 12th congressional district for seven consecutive terms. Her district included the Bedford–Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood that experienced high rates of food insecurity.
Chisholm was galvanized to improve food access and nutrition-related health outcomes for her constituents and others experiencing hunger across the US. She partnered with Sen. Bob Dole to formally recommend piloting a nutritional assistance program for mothers and young children in 1972. As a result, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was born. Despite opposition, Chisholm worked tirelessly in support of the program and successfully made WIC funding permanent through amendments to the Child Nutrition Act in 1975. Today, WIC is considered one of the USDA’s most successful nutrition assistance programs in the country.
George Washington Carver (c.1865-1943) was a chemist, educator, and agricultural scientist whose work made farming more sustainable and profitable for communities across the southern US. His brilliant work was motivated by strong religious faith and a deep commitment to apply science in service to everyday people.
Carver was the first Black scholar to graduate from what is now Iowa State University, and brought his passion for practical science to bear as Director of Agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute. The “Plant Doctor” transformed life for Black Southern farmers through techniques like crop rotation, which restored nutrients to fields depleted by cotton and tobacco production. Carver took his agricultural discoveries on the road through his Tuskegee extension program. He published free, accessibly-written recipes to ensure farmers could extract the greatest nutrition and profit from crops like peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, pecans, and more.
Representative Mickey Leland (1944-1989) was a passionate advocate for food and healthcare access who dedicated his political career to working on behalf of food-insecure populations in the US and across the world.
Leland’s reform efforts began at the community organizing level in his hometown of Houston, Texas. He helped establish free medical access programs and became a prominent voice among local civil rights leaders. Leland won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 1972, and continued to advance the interests of low income Americans upon his election to Congress in 1979. He visited soup kitchens and shelters, donated personally to food banks, and spent the night sleeping on a steam grate on the streets of Washington D.C. to draw public attention toward food and housing issues in 1987.
After a formative visit to Sudan, Leland’s focus on food policy expanded to addressing starvation in developing nations. Through unwavering advocacy, Leland successfully formed the House Select Committee on Hunger and helped push through legislation for an almost-$800 million aid package for global famine relief in 1984. Leland passed away in an accident while traveling to deliver aid to Sudanese refugees in 1989, but the legacy of his fight for food security continues. To honor his work, Congress enacted the Mickey Leland Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act of 1990 and the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act of 1993 to continue funding for federal food assistance programs.
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was a voting rights activist and civil rights leader who set a new precedent for grassroots farming cooperatives in the United States.
Hamer’s activism stemmed from pivotal incidents of injustice in her life, including her forced sterilization by a white doctor in 1961 and the struggle she underwent trying to register to vote in 1962. Hamer fought endlessly to empower Black citizens through desegregation activism, voter outreach, legal suits, and mutual aid. She organized with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and co-founded the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party.
Despite direct opposition from President Lyndon B. Johnson, Hamer spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 1964. She testified about her eviction after attempting to register to vote, and the violent assault perpetrated against her by white law enforcement officers after a sit-in protest. She also called for racially integrated state delegations at the DNC on behalf of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party. Hamer’s message was broadcast on news stations across the country, leading to a speaking tour that included the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She discussed her upbringing in Ruleville, Mississippi, and the food insecurity her family experienced as sharecroppers: “I know what the pain of hunger is about.”
Hamer was determined to empower poor farming families through shared food and financial opportunity. She leveraged a $10,000 grant from Madison-based nonprofit Measure for Measure to acquire land in Sunflower County, Mississippi, and founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative in 1969.
Through communally growing food, raising pigs, and selling cash crops, the Freedom Farm Cooperative fulfilled needs neglected by federal programs and enabled members to create a more stable living together, on their terms. The Coop later expanded to include housing, a farm store, boutique, and sewing business, and became one of the largest employers in Sunflower County. As Hamer said, “All the qualifications that you have to have to become part of the co-op is you have to be poor… This is the first kind of program that has ever been sponsored in the country in letting local people do their thing themselves.”
Most people know that Dane County is facing a housing shortage. Middleton is facing the same problem. The Regional Housing Plan (RHP), created by a group of local leaders from different fields across the county, says Middleton needs to build 318 new housing units each year through 2040 to keep up with demand. About 26% of these new housing units should be affordable. This means the rent is based on a person’s income and is for households earning no more than 60% of the area’s median income. While Middleton is keeping pace with overall new units, it has not built enough affordable housing. The city needs more affordable housing–and the city will also need support for that affordable housing to help people remain stable and succeed in our community.
Having enough affordable housing is critical to our community’s infrastructure and economy. The employees at our favorite restaurants, the teachers in local schools, the medical staff at hospitals, and retail workers at shops all need somewhere to live. When housing costs push workers out of the neighborhood, businesses can’t find employees, services decline, and communities lose diversity and vibrancy.
Residents who qualify for affordable housing live on very tight budgets and sometimes need additional support to stay in their housing, including support services such as food assistance, case management, and emergency rental and move-in cost assistance. Studies have consistently shown that people in affordable housing who engage in case management stay in their homes longer and have better health outcomes. Evidence demonstrates that eviction prevention is a good investment–keeping people housed costs our community far less than re-housing them.
Research also shows that the most cost-effective way to provide supportive services is to customize the level of services to the needs of individual program participants. Our two-track housing approach does this by matching families to either short-term intervention support or intensive long-term case management based on their specific situation, ensuring resources are deployed where they’ll have the greatest impact.
Most affordable housing is created using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and through this program, developers are required to partner with nonprofits to provide these services. WayForward Resources currently provides supportive services to residents at 15 different LIHTC developments across West Madison, Middleton, and Cross Plains, 6 of which are in the City of Middleton. Developer funding never fully covers our actual costs–creating a gap that restricts our capacity to serve the families who need support to maintain stable housing.
Last year, WayForward provided housing support for 294 households with a Middleton zip code, in addition to supporting households in other areas. We are constantly bumping against capacity. Last October, we had our highest number of requests for housing assistance ever in one month. Although our housing stability support budget has increased 161% in the past five years, we struggle to keep up with the need for services.
Housing sits at the intersection of nearly every other social challenge. You can’t address food security, healthcare, education, or economic mobility without addressing housing. Stable housing is necessary for success in these other areas. At WayForward, we often see people faced with impossible choices caused by the rising rent in our community: pay their elevated rent or purchase medicine for their child, stay in an apartment they can no longer afford and risk eviction or move out and bounce between the apartments of friends, family or even acquaintances. Our programs enable families in Middleton to avoid having to make a choice like this. It enables them to cover their basic needs, to face the future with less fear and uncertainty, and to avoid eviction and the trauma that comes with it. We know our programs make a difference. On the Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix (a nationally recognized 90-point scale measuring household stability) our program participants improve by 7 to 15 points. Supportive services are an important piece of the successful affordable housing puzzle. Investing in them helps build a strong community.
Currently, the City of Middleton has a unique opportunity. On April 15, 2025, the Middleton Common Council adopted a resolution to extend the life of Tax Increment District (TID) #3 to use the final year of increment to establish an Affordable Housing Fund. Over the past year, the Community Development Authority and the Workforce Housing Committee developed a plan for how the fund could be used to improve housing affordability in Middleton. Included in the Draft Housing Action Plan are provisions for affordable housing and for funding supportive services, like those available through WayForward, to help people in affordable housing be successful. Whether these inclusions will remain in the final plan approved by the Middleton Common Council is far from certain.
We believe your voice is important. City alders need to hear from members of the community who support using some of these funds for supportive services. If you agree that increasing units available to moderate and low-income individuals and funding the support services needed to ensure affordable housing’s success in our community is important, and you live or work in Middleton or visit frequently, take a moment to fill out the City’s short ten-question survey to share your thoughts. The deadline is February 28.
If you are a City of Middleton resident, we also encourage you to reach out to your alder directly. You can find their districts and contact information here.
We want to begin by expressing our deep gratitude for your continued support of our organization. Your generosity enables us to serve our community in meaningful ways, and we are continually inspired by your commitment to helping your neighbors create stability.
Today, we want to share an update about our clothing center and its impact, while also asking for your partnership in ensuring we can continue to serve our community as effectively as possible.
How You Can Help
Please Review Our Donation Guidelines
Over 600 households use the WayForward Resources Clothing Center each month. We are committed to continuing our free clothing center for as long as we can maintain the capacity to do so. To help us succeed, we’re asking the community to carefully review our donation guidelines before bringing items to us.
What We Gladly Accept:
- Clothing and shoes*
- NEW underwear
- Blankets*
- Towels*
- Sheets*
- NEW pillows
*clean and in good condition (no rips or stains)
What We Cannot Accept:
- Electronics and appliances
- Kitchen items (dishes, glassware, silverware, pots, and pans, etc.)
- Mattresses
- Used pillows
- Mattress pads
- Pre-worn underwear
- Lamps
- Furniture and decorative household items
- Toys
- Bicycles
- Baby products (child car seats, highchairs, cribs, bassinets, etc.)
- Medical equipment
We understand that many of these items are valuable and could benefit someone who needs them. If you have items from our “cannot accept” list, we encourage you to contact other local organizations that may have the space and mission to accommodate them.
Why This Matters
Understanding WayForward’s Space and Capacity
Here’s what many people may not realize: our facility operates with very limited space, and every square foot matters. Our primary mission centers on providing food to those experiencing food insecurity, and our capacity to fulfill that mission depends on how efficiently we can use our available space.
When our clothing center begins to overflow with items we cannot distribute, it directly impacts our ability to store and distribute food. This creates a challenging situation where generous donations can inadvertently reduce our capacity to serve our core mission.
Additionally, when we receive items outside our acceptance guidelines, our small staff must coordinate transportation to partner agencies that can accept these items. While we’re grateful to work with partner organizations, this process requires time, labor, and resources that could otherwise be directed toward serving community members experiencing food insecurity.
Moving Forward Together
Your partnership in following these guidelines makes an enormous difference. When you bring items from our “accepted list,” you’re not only helping someone receive quality clothing and linens, you’re also helping us maintain the space we need to continue our food distribution mission.
We recognize that it requires extra effort on your part to sort donations and ensure they align with our needs. That thoughtfulness and care is a gift in itself, and we are truly grateful.
Thank you for your understanding, continued generosity, and commitment to our community. Together, we can ensure that our clothing center and food programs continue to have the greatest possible impact in creating food security and housing stability for our neighbors.
Click here to see donation drop-off times and how to donate new household items for our Connections program from our Amazon wishlist.
Join us in welcoming our newest staff members at WayForward!
Maggie Milcarek joined the WayForward Resources team in October 2025 as Food and Resource Access Director. She brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in nonprofit organizations focused on affordable housing, homelessness, social services, and advocacy. Maggie holds a Master of Social Work in Policy Practice from the University of Washington and most recently served as FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator with the UW–Madison Division of Extension. In her free time, Maggie enjoys supporting her two children in their activities, as well as gardening, crafting, music, and cross-country skiing.
Ron Radunzel, Community Food Logistics Manager, joined the WayForward Resources team in early September 2025. Ron has a robust background in business and systems, and worked as the Director of DVR Services and Director of Supported Employment at Mobility Training and Independent Living, Inc. Ron and his wife Rachel are passionate pet parents who volunteer their time and foster animals for Sheltering Animals of Abuse Victims – Madison and the Dane County Humane Society.
Kate Rowell, Communications Coordinator, joined the Development team at WayForward Resources in October 2025. Kate earned her masters in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program and has worked for cultural organizations across the East Coast and Midwest. Most recently, she worked as a Digital Marketing Specialist at the Madison Children’s Museum. In addition to her work with WayForward, Kate facilitates empathy-building workshops with nonprofit World Without Hate. In her free time, she enjoys collecting vintage items and planning adventures for her Dungeons & Dragons group.
Maddie Kalscheuer, Food and Resource Access Manager, joined the WayForward Resources team in August 2025. Maddie recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, earning a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. During her time at the university, she assisted in a research project related to healthy eating and drinking habits among children, completed an 8-month internship with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, and studied abroad in Spain. In her free time, Maddie enjoys sewing, playing board games, and cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers.
An End-of-Year Message from Executive Director Ellen Carlson
I love roller coasters, even at my age! I love the anticipation of the climb, the rush of the drop, the way your stomach flips on a sharp turn. But I’m able to enjoy them because I know the engineers have designed every heart-racing twist for maximum safety. 2025 felt like being strapped into a roller coaster ride that we didn’t choose to get on, nor that felt safe. Federal policy and funding changes sent us climbing, dropping, and whipping around corners we couldn’t have imagined. We had to lean into every turn and figure out in real-time how to keep everyone as safe as possible–and remain seated in the cart.
What made it possible to stay on the track through all the twists and turns? We held on to each other. Our community strapped in alongside us on the bumpy ride–ascending to maximum highs by partnering to create stability in our community. Throughout the ups and downs and uncertainty, WayForward Resources has stayed grounded in our mission and values, while being nimble and responsive to what was happening around us. And together we made a difference.
One of the most significant challenges of the year occurred a couple of months ago, when SNAP benefits lapsed due to the federal government shutdown. Visits to our food pantry increased rapidly during that time as thousands of local SNAP recipients, who depend on those benefits to buy groceries at the store, worried about how they would feed themselves and their families. I was overwhelmed with sadness by what was happening to people in our community–and at the same time, I was also overwhelmed with gratitude and joy by how the community responded immediately–mobilizing and jumping in with increased food and financial donations. Working late, I would see cars drive in to drop off boxes and bags and carfuls of food without pause. By comparison, we had nearly three times as much food donated during the six weeks after our information went out as we did last year during this same time period. People experiencing this scare had access to ample food because you donated your resources of food, money, and time. We came together in this critical moment because we all envision a community where no one has to worry about if they will go hungry.
And while SNAP benefits have since been restored, much uncertainty and concern remains. Expected federal cuts to SNAP in 2026 will put 90,000 Wisconsinites at risk of losing their benefits. This will increase the number of people relying on food pantries. WayForward’s food pantry and the pantry system in our community are already stretched trying to keep pace with the record-level demand. Thankfully, to date, we have not had to turn anyone away from the food pantry, but it remains challenging to keep our shelves stocked with food. In the year ahead, we will be working even more closely with five other large food pantries in Dane County to explore new ways to order food together in bulk and pool our resources to bring in more food. And we will be relying even more on community food donations and food drives to ensure we can continue to feed our neighbors.
Our housing programs are also experiencing record demand. This past October, we received the most emergency fund requests we have ever had in a single month. One factor is that housing prices in Dane County are climbing much faster than wages. While new housing is continuously being built, it has proved challenging to keep up with Dane County’s growing population of all incomes. (Did you know that some projections have the Dane County area population at more than 1 million people by 2050?) Solving our housing problems truly requires a community-wide effort. This year, we hosted a number of informative presentations in order to share what we are seeing in our programs and hearing from the people we serve with decision-makers and community members. We hope this increased knowledge and understanding will lead to new approaches and effective solutions.
The roller coaster of federal policy changes impacted our housing programs as well. We were awarded a significant federal grant in 2024 to support our Connections program, which helps families in doubled-up situations (living with others because they don’t have anywhere else to stay) move into stable housing. While we had expected the funding to arrive over the summer to pick up where previous funding was sunsetting, it has still not arrived. There continues to be complications and confusion with much of the federal funding for community housing programs. This has caused disruption not only to our program, but to housing programs throughout the community. While we are still hoping for our grant to arrive, we are also exploring alternative ways to support families in this program in 2026.
When people ask me, “How are things?,” it can be difficult to answer! It’s hard right now for so many people in our community. We talk with people every day who are facing huge barriers and who are feeling scared as they have seen a wide range of stability-supporting community resources disrupted. But also, we have been inspired and energized by the strength of our community’s support that has helped us navigate these bumps and curves so that we can continue to provide food and housing resources for our neighbors.
We are still strapped into this bumpy ride. But we’re keeping our eyes wide open, preparing for the year ahead that we anticipate will be full of more unexpected twists and curves. We ask for your continued partnership in our work together to ensure everyone in our community has the nutritious food and stable housing needed to thrive. There are a number of ways you can still join us in making a difference this year. Make a tax-deductible financial donation online, by check, from your IRA, appreciated stock, or donor-advised fund. Donations of your time through volunteering or donations of food also make an immediate, impactful difference. You can purchase items directly from our online wish list for delivery, or use our top 10 list to buy items locally to drop off.
Thank you for choosing to create stability in our community–here, now, and for the future.
Sincerely,
Ellen Carlson, Executive Director
DonateThank you to everyone who contributed food and funds to support WayForward’s food pantry–ensuring we were able to continue to have food available for our neighbors throughout the difficult couple of weeks during the SNAP benefit delay. Together, we collected an amazing 87,851 pounds of food (the equivalent of 67,111 meals) from donation drop-offs, organized food drives, and our online wish list between October 21 and December 8. This amount of food is nearly three times the amount donated during the same period last year.
On behalf of all of us at WayForward Resources, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the partnership and leadership of the City of Middleton, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Middleton Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Middleton Business Association in the Community-Wide Food Drive. A very special thank you to Middleton District 6 Alder Lisa Janairo, who was instrumental in envisioning, activating, and coordinating the Community-Wide Food Drive. This collective effort truly shows the impact we can have when we work together to create food security—and how together, we can make it through tough times.
When the federal government shutdown delayed SNAP benefits, putting people’s ability to feed themselves and their families at risk, our community responded—making sure that no one would have to experience hunger. During this time of uncertainty, WayForward’s pantry saw a significant increase in demand. On one of the Thursdays during that time, we gave out nearly 13,000 pounds of food—the highest amount in a single day this year. The uncertainty created by the SNAP benefit delay also led to 171 new households signing up to use the food pantry for the first time during October 21-November 8. Prior to this, we had already been seeing the highest demand in our organization’s over 45-year history.
As we look to the future, there is still a lot of uncertainty. But thanks to the support of our community, we were able to have food available through this recent crisis, and we will continue to provide nutritious food, now and in the future. We believe that together, we can create stability in our community, even in the midst of uncertainty around us. Thank you for joining us in our work together—and for continuing to inspire us with your generosity and committed partnership.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2025
Contacts:
Anne Shlimovitz, WayForward Resources, anne@wayfordwardresoures.org, (608) 826-3408
Lisa Marshall, Badger Prairie Needs Network, communications@bpnn.org, (608) 347-2112
Florence Edwards-Miller, Goodman Community Center, (608) 204-3127
Becca Bolton, The River Food Pantry, becca@riverfoodpantry.org, (608) 665-0819
Katherine Addison, St. Vincent de Paul — Madison, kaddison@svdpmadison.org, (608) 442-7200 x37
Susan Schmidt, Sunshine Place, susan@sunshineplace.org, (608) 478-5556
Delayed SNAP Benefits Cause Significant Increases in Demand at Area Food Pantries
MADISON — Six of Dane County’s largest food pantries are already seeing the impacts of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) delays. SNAP, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, provided benefits to nearly 65,000 people in Dane County in 2024. As America’s most extensive anti-hunger program, it gives out monthly government benefits to low-income households to help them purchase food. Even before SNAP benefits lapsed over the past weekend due to the federal government shutdown, many area food pantries began seeing increases as people turned to them to fill anticipated gaps. This comes on top of significant increases in demand that Dane County food pantries have already experienced over the last several years.
“The disruption to the SNAP program is already creating additional pressure as we enter our busiest time of year,” reports Rhonda Adams, Executive Director of The River Food Pantry. “The River provided nearly 500 grocery orders and over 900 take-home meals in a single day last week, even before benefits were delayed. That is our busiest day ever outside of a holiday week. We are bracing for a surge in need, both among current clients and families who have not been visiting a pantry. I spoke to people waiting for their groceries last week, and most worried about how they will replace the meals that FoodShare covered, even with the support available from local pantries.”
Other food pantries are also seeing significant increases in visitors. “Last Tuesday, we saw our highest number of customers ever in our food pantry,” said Goodman Community Center’s Director of Food Resources, Francesca Frisque. “This included a large number of new shoppers who had never visited our pantry before. The rest of the week continued to be high, and we anticipate more this week.”
Food pantries are bracing for hard weeks ahead. Yesterday in response to a federal judge’s order to release a contingency fund, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that this contingency fund would only cover $4.6 billion of November’s SNAP benefits, roughly half of what is typically distributed. No timeline was provided to when people would receive these benefits.
Despite these challenges, Dane County food pantries want to emphasize to community members impacted by the delay and partial payment of FoodShare benefits that they are prepared to do everything possible to ensure continued access to basic food. They are seeing firsthand the strain that the delay in benefits, along with the disruption and confusion from constantly changing information, is putting on families.
“People are worried. We’re hearing concern from both those who need help and those eager to offer it,” said Ann Maastricht, Executive Director of Sunshine Place. “Sunshine Place and our partner pantries across Dane County have food and support available, and together with community support, we are making sure everyone who needs help can get it.”
For now, food pantries are filling a critical gap. Although they can do this for a short time, food pantries can’t be the permanent solution. “Food pantries and SNAP are intended to work together to combat food insecurity,” said Chris Kane, Senior Director of Client Services at St. Vincent de Paul — Madison. “Food pantries cannot replace SNAP. According to Feeding America, for every one meal provided by food pantries, the SNAP program provides nine meals. That is too large a gap for the charitable sector to replace.”
Community members can give now to their local food pantry to make sure pantries continue to have food to meet the surge in demand. Even after the SNAP crisis ends, community support will still be important as we head into the holiday season. “Crisis or not, hunger doesn’t take a break,” said Marcia Kasieta, Business and Development Director at Badger Prairie Needs Network. “Even when SNAP funding begins to return, record-setting need will continue. And with more federal cuts on the horizon, even more vulnerable families will be affected. Dane County has one of the most organized and collaborative food pantry networks in the country — but we rely on the strength and generosity of our wider community to help lift our neighbors through tough times.”
Cash donations enable pantries to target their buying to the most-needed items and to purchase in bulk at lower prices than retail. Most pantries also accept donations of nonperishable food. Check your local food pantry’s website for more details about giving or to see information about volunteer needs they may have.
“WayForward Resources and other local pantries have already seen an incredible response from the community,” said Ellen Carlson, Executive Director of WayForward Resources. “Thank you. We appreciate the monetary and food donations, the offers to volunteer and the concern and support that have all come our way. It is essential. Please continue to partner with us during the delay and reduction in SNAP benefits–and into the future so that we can build a strong community together.”
About the Food Pantries:
About Badger Prairie Needs Network
Founded in 1986, Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) is a volunteer-powered 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to end hunger and reduce poverty in Dane County. In addition to operating one of the region’s most collaborative food pantry and food recovery programs, BPNN offers a range of wrap-around community services including pro bono legal assistance, onsite social workers through Joining Forces for Families, a commercial kitchen, community meals, and job-training programs in partnership with the Latino Academy of Workforce Development. Demand for food assistance continues to reach historic levels. In 2025, BPNN is on pace to support more than 95,000 neighbors — nearly triple pre-pandemic levels. Learn more at bpnn.org.
About the Fritz Food Pantry at Goodman Community Center
Located on Madison’s east side, the Goodman Community Center strengthens lives and secures futures, through programs focusing on food security, older adults, children ages 3–19, and building community. The Fritz Food Pantry at the Goodman Community Center provides groceries for more than 350 households every week. We believe everyone should have access to a variety of healthy, fresh foods, regardless of their income level, and we’re proud to provide this valuable service to anyone in our community who needs it. The pantry is open three days a week and all are welcome. No pre-registration is required. Learn more at goodmancenter.org.
About The River Food Pantry
The River is South Central Wisconsin’s busiest food pantry. Services include free groceries for pickup or delivery, to-go meals, online grocery orders, mobile meals, and after-hours food lockers. The River also recovers food and resources—that would otherwise go to waste—from local retailers. Since 2006, The River has grown to serve over 3,500 people every week in pursuit of its vision: a fully nourished community. Learn more at www.riverfoodpantry.org.
About St. Vincent de Paul — Madison
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison is a membership organization dedicated to helping our neighbors in need. They offer services such as food, prescription medicine, clothing, furniture, household goods, storage lockers and guidance to neighbors in need. Seven St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores across Dane County help fund these services and provide direct charity through a furniture, household goods and clothing voucher program. St. Vincent de Paul — Madison is currently accepting new volunteers during their “Volunteers Are Magic” drive with Magic98. Please visit https://svdpmadison.org/event/magic98-volunteer-drive/ to learn more.
About Sunshine Place
Located in Sun Prairie, Sunshine Place is a community resource serving Dane County and surrounding areas. The nonprofit provides a one-stop shop for support, offering its own programs focused on food, housing, and basic needs, alongside co-located partner agencies that provide additional wraparound services. The largest of Sunshine Place’s programs is the Sun Prairie Food Pantry, a full-choice pantry open six days per week and serving households across Dane County and beyond. The pantry also provides community-based food distribution to children in Sun Prairie and nearby communities through neighborhood and school partnerships. Learn more at https://sunshineplace.org.
About WayForward Resources
WayForward Resources focuses on creating food security and housing stability. Located in Middleton, their food pantry and clothing center are open five days a week to anyone in Dane County. WayForward’s housing stability programs provide case management, referrals, and financial assistance to community members living in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District and part of the west side of Madison. Learn more at wayforwardresources.org.
We will be providing updates to this page as they become available.
- Need help? Our food pantry is open five days during the week to all residents of Dane County. Learn more here about how and when you can access food now.
- Want to help? You can help meet the surge in food demand in our community while SNAP benefits are delayed by making a financial donation today. You can also join the community-wide food drive. The City of Middleton, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Middleton Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Middleton Business Association are partnering to make sure our neighbors don’t go without food while we wait for the federal government to restore SNAP benefits. Learn More >
WayForward in the News
Scroll further down in this page for recent press
Updated 11/14/25
Thank You, Community, for Your Response!
Thanks to the amazing response of our community, we were able to continue to have food available for our neighbors throughout the difficult last couple of weeks. Between October 21 and November 8, our community collected and donated 39,418 pounds of food to the WayForward Resources food pantry. During the same time period, our pantry distributed nearly one and a half times as much food as we did during the same period last year. Just last Thursday, we gave out nearly 13,000 pounds of food – the highest amount in a single day this year. The uncertainty created by the SNAP benefit delay also led to 171 new households signing up to use the food pantry for the first time.
As we look to the future, there is still a lot of uncertainty. Many of the people who visit our food pantry remain nervous. Having recently lost access to food so suddenly, they worry about the reliability of the benefits in the future. Under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” 90,000 Wisconsinites are at risk of losing SNAP benefits in 2026. This would lead to increases in demand at food pantries. There is also uncertainty around TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) food, which accounts for approximately 10% of our food at WayForward, being delayed in the months ahead due to a pause in the process created by the government shutdown.
Even before the SNAP benefit delay, WayForward was experiencing record-high demand for food at our pantry, with four times as many visits as we had just four years ago. Some of the causes for these increases are population growth in our area, higher food prices, and rising housing costs (rent has increased 47% in the past five years). Because people have to put more of their limited dollars toward rent, they have little left over for other basic necessities, and so are depending on food pantries to fill the gap. Our housing programs are also feeling increased pressure. In October, WayForward experienced our highest demand for emergency housing assistance ever. All of this means that, while we are thrilled that SNAP benefits have been restored, we remain concerned about the future.
What the last few weeks have shown us, though, is that as a community, we can make it through hard times together. We were able to continue providing food through the SNAP delay thanks to the support of our community, and we believe that together, we can create stability in our community, even in the midst of uncertainty around us.
Updated 11/7/25
The past two weeks have been like no other weeks in WayForward’s history. It has been a time of uncertainty and constantly changing news, of fear, and great need in our community — and of incredible support from our community for neighbors facing food insecurity. Thank you for your response over the past couple of weeks.
We are relieved that Gov. Evers announced late last night that his administration has immediately moved to pay full November payments for all Wisconsin FoodShare members after a federal court ordered the Trump administration to stop withholding SNAP payments to states and directed the administration to use billions of dollars in readily available federal funding to provide food assistance payments to millions of Americans. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services posted this morning that full November FoodShare benefits are now available on QUEST cards.
We hope that with this step, we have avoided a potential humanitarian crisis–at least for this moment. There is still fear and uncertainty for people using our pantry because of the continued federal shutdown and no backup SNAP plan for December. Your support will remain important as we continue to wait for the federal government to open and fully restore SNAP benefits. It will also be important in the months ahead. Over the past several years, WayForward Resources and food pantries across Dane County have seen ever-rising numbers of visits, with the highest demand in our over 45-year history. With housing and grocery prices rising, wages not keeping up, and significant SNAP cuts on the horizon due to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” we expect high demand to continue. We appreciate the amazing response of the community over the last several weeks. Your partnership has been critical in sustaining our work of creating food security during a very challenging moment. We know that we can face what lies ahead together and that together we can ensure our neighbors don’t experience hunger in the months to come.
Updated 11/5/25
Thank you community for your response so far! As the SNAP delays continue, your support is vital now and in the weeks to come in sustaining people in our community who need food now. Yesterday alone, we gave out over 10,000 pounds of food. We are consistently seeing some of our highest days of demand. We are also seeing many new people registering to use the food pantry for the first time.
We are temporarily pausing donations to our Clothing Center until December 1. While we appreciate these donations, our staff and volunteers need to fully focus on food distribution. We have also reached our capacity to store clothing that can’t go out on the Clothing Center floor because we need to ensure we have enough room in the warehouse for food donations. Our Clothing Center will continue to be open for people in the community.
We have been told recently that the $4.6 billion in contingency funding could take weeks to be released and go out to people in our community. Here at WayForward, we are bracing for the possibility of a more long-term disruption. Your support is essential in helping us continue to be a stopgap while we wait for SNAP benefits to be restored.
Press Release | November 4, 2025
Delayed SNAP Benefits Cause Significant Increases in Demand at Area Food Pantries
Updated 11/3/25
SNAP benefits lapsed on November 1.
A federal judge ordered on Friday that the Trump administration must release the $5 billion contingency fund to pay SNAP benefits while the federal government is shut down. The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of states including Wisconsin. At this point, the timeline of when these funds will be available is unclear. The contingency funds won’t cover an entire month of SNAP benefits although their release will make a significant difference in easing pressure on food pantries.
Wisconsin Gov. Evers has declared a state of emergency as the shutdown continues.
Follow Wisconsin Department of Heath’s website for specific information about Wisconsin FoodShare (the name of Wisconsin’s SNAP program) program.
Updated 10/27/25
What’s Happening With SNAP Benefits
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has shared that due to the federal government shutdown, November FoodShare benefits will be delayed. FoodShare is Wisconsin’s name for the federally funded SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) program, America’s largest anti-hunger program which includes monthly government benefits to low-income households to help them purchase food. It is 100% federally funded. In Dane County, 64,473 people received SNAP benefits in 2024. Letters were mailed to current SNAP recipients on October 22 letting them know of this issue. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is encouraging SNAP recipients to learn about other sources of food in their area–sources like WayForward’s food pantry.
While WayForward will do everything we can to provide people access to food and bridge the gap (see more on this below), we want to be clear: pantries like WayForward Resources are not and cannot be the solution to this problem. For every one meal provided through a Feeding America food bank or food pantry, SNAP provides nine. And food pantries are already stretched thin. WayForward, one of the largest food pantries in Dane County, served 15,000 people last year, the most ever in our history. We have four times as many visits as we did just four years ago and are purchasing six times as much food. This amount of growth in demand is already challenging. While we can serve as an emergency stopgap, food pantries alone can’t solve this problem.
The only real solution to the current situation must come through the federal government. Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, stated on October 24: “The resources available through the USDA, like funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), are invaluable to our neighbors across the country, and we implore Secretary Rollins and federal leaders to use all available avenues to protect families impacted by the ongoing shutdown, without delay.” This is referencing $5 billion in contingency funding that many policy experts believe could be released immediately to cover SNAP benefits. Feeding America also stated, “Food is foundational for all of us, and for each of us, and politics should not separate people from the food that they need to thrive.”
WayForward experienced an over 75% increase in demand last Friday alone. Although benefits have not yet been delayed, SNAP recipients are nervous and are starting to stock up on food in preparation. Guests have told WayForward volunteers that they are preparing to eat less, skip meals and get more food from WayForward to make it through.
What WayForward is doing:
WayForward Resources will do everything we can to provide food to people facing food insecurity and hunger in our community. Creating stability has always been our mission and during this time of incredible instability we continue to be committed to fulfilling our mission. We are following the situation closely and exploring all avenues to respond including securing additional resources. We will remain open five days a week with food on our shelves. We will also continue our every-other-week delivery program for all enrolled households.
We are increasing the amount of food we are purchasing and are identifying creative ways to store this additional food. We are increasing staff presence in the food pantry to provide additional support to volunteers. We are also exploring additional ways to make basic food available to people who need it.
What you can do:
With your support, we can bridge a gap and provide basic food. Make a donation today to help us provide basic food for people in our community. You can see our list of food the pantry accepts here with our top 10 list here or purchase food items online here. Because of the urgency and condensed timeline of this situation, financial donations are most appreciated right now because they allow us to focus spending on most needed items.
More critically, we all need to advocate for restored federal funding for SNAP. Only federal government support can provide the long-term solution to this problem.
We are in this together.
WAYFORWARD IN THE NEWS
City Cast Madison | November 13, 2025
How Madison Food Pantries are Weathering a Storm of Uncertainty
Channel 3000 (News 3 Now) | November 7, 2025
SNAP benefits released to Wisconsin before Supreme Court block
Press Release | November 4, 2025
Delayed SNAP Benefits Cause Significant Increases in Demand at Area Food Pantries
Isthmus | November 4, 2025
With FoodShare benefits delayed, Madison food pantries seeking donations of money, food, time
WMTV 15 News | October 30, 2025
WayForward Resources gives insight into growing concerns about FoodShare benefits
Wisconsin State Journal | October 30, 2025
Southern Wisconsin food pantries brace for more visits if SNAP benefits are paused
Wisconsin State Journal | October 28, 2025
Wisconsin food pantries cannot replace federal SNAP benefits
Channel 3000 (News 3 Now) | October 24, 2025
Local food pantries brace for food stamp delay
WMTV 15 News (Now at 10) | October 24, 2025
Madison nonprofits concerned as SNAP benefits may be delayed with government shutdown
City Cast Madison | October 24, 2025
Snap Benefits in Peril