Leslie Albrecht Huber, WayForward’s Strategic Engagement Director, recently spoke with NPR Here & Now host Deepa Fernandes about factors contributing to rising hunger in our community and across the country.
“50% of the people who came last year had never been here before,” Huber said in the interview.
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2023-24 ANNUAL REPORT
As I look back on the past year, I am struck by how profoundly the dramatic increase in need in our community has shaped our organization.
These changes go beyond numbers — we see it in all aspects of our everyday work.
Our programs served more than 13,000 people in our community, almost twice as many as the year before. The rise in demand has required us to think creatively, leverage partnerships in new ways, and remain focused on our core mission of food security and housing stability. We have asked more of you this year to help us meet this unprecedented need, and you strongly responded with your financial donations, food drives, and hours of volunteer service.
The challenges we face as an organization reflect the broader struggles within our community, including rising food and housing costs. Our pantry distributed more than one million pounds of food last year, continuing the increase in the costs of our food security programs. We saw increased demand in our housing programs, too. We provided support to 729 households to prevent eviction and preserve their stability, over 100 more than the year before.
Thank you for standing with us, for believing in our mission, and for helping us navigate this transformative year. We need you to keep standing with us, as growing numbers of people in our community face barriers to accessing nutritious food and maintaining stable housing.
In our first year with our new name, seeing our dedicated volunteers proudly wearing their new WayForward T-shirts has been a powerful symbol of our shared commitment and energy to build a community where everyone has the stability to thrive. Together, we can continue to work toward this vision.
With gratitude,
Ellen Carlson
Executive Director
A coalition of 36 Dane County food pantries released a letter to the community on Tuesday, sounding an alarm about the rising number of people facing food insecurity and the need for both immediate support and longer-term solutions to the challenges of distributing enough food to meet the growing need.
The letter, published as a full-page ad in Tuesday’s print edition of the Wisconsin State Journal, begins: “Dane County, we need your help.” The cost of the ad was co-sponsored by United Way of Dane County and the newspaper.
“As Dane County food pantries, we serve thousands of people in our community each day. Our shared mission is to make sure our neighbors don’t face hunger,” the letter said. “But we are facing a serious challenge.”
The food pantries also held a press conference Tuesday morning at the state Capitol, where they were joined by local officials and community leaders, including Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Janel Heinrich, Executive Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County, state legislators, county supervisors, and other invited guests. The event drew broad coverage from local media.
Wisconsin State Journal: Madison-area food pantries struggle to meet rising demand
Middleton-Cross Plains Times Tribune: WayForward, Other Food Pantries Issue Call to Action
Wisconsin Public Radio: Many Dane County food pantries are spending more on food than ever before
City Cast Madison: Interview with WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson
News 3 Now: Dane County food pantries ask for assistance
WMTV 15: Dane County food pantries pushing for more financial help
WKOW 27: Local food pantries call on Dane County community for support as demand increases
WORT Radio: Dane County Food Pantries Issue Call To Action, Amidst Shortages And High Demand
Spectrum News: ‘We are facing a serious challenge’: Over 3 dozen pantries come together in call for help
InBusiness: 3 dozen local food pantries issue call to action over scarce resources
WisPolitics: Local food pantries issue call to action, “Dane County, we need your help.”
Wisconsin Eye: News Conference: Dane County Food Pantry Leaders on Food Insecurity [Signup required for a free account to watch]
A coalition of more than 30 Dane County food pantries, including WayForward, have released a letter to the community, sounding an alarm about the rising demand for assistance and the need for both immediate community support and longer-term solutions to fill the gap. Please read and share this message with your networks!
Dane County, we need your help.
As Dane County food pantries, we serve thousands of people in our community each day. Our shared mission is to make sure our neighbors don’t face hunger.
But we are facing a serious challenge.
Visits to many of our food pantries have more than doubled in the past two years. We know some of the reasons why. Food prices are higher and rent is rising more here than anywhere else in the country. Federal assistance that helped people make ends meet during the pandemic is gone. We are also the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin. Nearly 13% of kids in Dane County were food insecure in 2022, up from 7.5% in 2021 — and that was before our food pantries started seeing drastic increases in demand.
We’re also spending more on food than ever before.
The options we have to keep our shelves stocked continue to shift and are more limited than they were just a few years ago. Buying food in bulk is more expensive now and our traditional suppliers of free food can’t keep up with the demand. Permanent changes to the food system over the last few years mean there is less surplus available for our food pantries.
These trends make it challenging to keep food on our shelves.
Food pantries have worked hard to stretch our resources, space, and teams as far as possible. The pressure will rise in the coming weeks as kids have less access to free food with schools out for the summer.
You can help.
Making a financial donation to your local food pantry enables them to purchase needed food. We welcome food drives and volunteers, too. We know there is no quick or easy fix to food insecurity and the structural and economic factors that drive it. So we urge our local, county, state, and federal officials, as well as other community leaders, to help find long-term solutions to food insecurity. We can’t do it alone.
This is a critical moment for us to come together for our neighbors.
When our community supports local food pantries, we are stronger. With access to food, kids can learn, families can work, and seniors can stay healthy. It will take all of us to meet this challenge and make sure our neighbors don’t experience hunger. We are committed to doing all we can. We are asking you to join us.
In partnership with you,
Allied Food Pantry
Babies & Beyond of WI, Inc.
Badger Prairie Needs Network
Bayview Community Center Pantry
Catholic Multicultural Center
Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin
Deerfield Community Center
East Madison Community Center
Extended Hands Pantry
Fountain of Life Covenant Church
Good Shepherd Food Pantry
Goodman Community Center’s Fritz Food Pantry
Grace Food Pantry
Great Lakes Dryhootch Madison
Heights Unlimited Community Resource Center (Mazomanie)
Islamic Community of Madison
Kennedy Heights Food Pantry
Lakeview Food Pantry
Lussier Community Education Center – Food Pantry
Mission Nutrition DeForest
Neighborhood House Community Center Food Pantry
Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Mt. Horeb
Oregon Area Food Pantry
OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin
Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Madison Food Pantry
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Food Pantry
Stoughton Food Pantry
Stoughton United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Sun Prairie Food Pantry at Sunshine Place
The Keep Food Pantry
The River Food Pantry
Vivent Health Food Pantry
Waunakee Food Pantry
WayForward Resources
Willy Street Pantry at the Social Justice Center
Joel Baker, Doubled Up Housing Case Manager, recently joined WayForward’s team after relocating to Wisconsin from Kentucky. He assists doubled up families who enroll in our Connections Program by providing housing search assistance, advocacy services, case planning, and referrals. He has worked in a number of roles serving families in his career, including Head Start (serving low income families with children from birth to 5 years old), therapeutic foster care, and as a teacher working with at-risk youth. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from Western Michigan University, post baccalaureate Elementary Teaching Certification from Oakland University and a masters in education from Western Kentucky University. Joel has raised twin boys who are now young adults and in his free time enjoys e-biking and traveling, including van camping.
WayForward is proud to welcome four new members to our board this month – Chris Roth, Jennifer Wagner, Alex Gibson and Kate Nisbet (pictured above from left to right).
Roth is the Chief Marketing Officer at UW Health and also serves on the board for Ronald McDonald House Charities – Madison.
Wagner is the Director of Eligibility & Enrollment with the national non-profit advocacy organization the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and has spent her career working on programs that affect low-income families.
Gibson is Managing Director at Smart Solutions, Inc. and has worked with non-profit organizations for over 20 years. He started with WayForward as a volunteer in addition to more recently serving on a board committee.
Nisbet is part of the Client Solutions Team at Forward Health Group, Inc. and has worked in the health care industry for her entire career, along with serving as a board member for the Middleton High School Athletic Booster Club, Middleton High Band & Orchestra Parent Association and Stonefield Neighborhood Association.
Last month we said a heartfelt thank you and goodbye to two board members. Pastor Connie Matye (left) joined the board in the heart of the pandemic. Her passion for serving was a steady force throughout her term, which was full of more twists and turns than we could have ever imagined! Tricia Nolan (right) served on the board for 9 years, most recently as board chair. We are grateful for her near decade of compassionate service and her leadership in helping the organization through our rebrand to WayForward Resources.
[Photo above: The pantry shelves at the end of the day.]
For over 40 years, we have provided food for people in our community without ever turning anyone away who met our eligibility requirements.
For the first time in our history, we can no longer meet the need with our current resources.
We are giving out the most food in our history, caused by large-scale factors occurring across the country, some of which are felt even more acutely here. These include the large rise in housing costs, inflation in food prices, and the end of Covid-era supports. We have placed limits on how much food people can take, but we are still running out of food every week. The photo above was captured after our Wednesday morning pantry hours last week.
Over the past two years, we have seen constant and drastic increase in demand. Visits to our food pantry have nearly tripled in that time and are now distributing the equivalent of 100,000 meals each month. The impact of this increased demand has also been felt by our partners who historically have provided food to us for free or at reduced prices. In addition, changes in the food system have resulted in less food surplus. This means that we are distributing significantly more food while significantly less food is available to us for free. Just five years ago, we spent very little money on food — receiving enough from partners, rescues and community donations to cover most of our needs.
We now estimate that we would need to spend twice what we originally budgeted to spend on food to meet the ongoing need.
This critical gap exists despite meeting our fundraising budget last year. Our staff has worked hard to make up the difference as demand increased — secured new grants, found new food rescue partners, reached out to individuals and businesses to secure support. But it is no longer enough.
Referring people to other food pantries is not the answer, since they are all facing the same critical challenges we are. It is a very difficult and disturbing truth for all of us. There is not a quick fix. This is not a problem that we created and it’s not a problem we can address alone. We need to come together as a community to explore new ideas and solutions. We also need increased support right now to buy food and bridge this gap.
Here’s what you can do TODAY:
- Help us spread the word about what we are seeing – share our social media posts and invite others to make a donation of food or funds.
- Increase your giving if you are able so we can continue to support our food and housing programs along with this dramatic increase in need, make a financial gift for the first time, or purchase food items from our Amazon wish list to send to the pantry.
- Think about your connections. Could your business or church group do a food drive or invite one of our staff members to share information about the community food crisis?
While the situation is serious, it is not hopeless. We know our community has both the resources and generosity to address this gap. And we remain confident in our ability to effectively provide services. We believe that together, with our community’s support, we can make sure people don’t have to experience hunger.
Please reach out to Leslie Huber, our Strategic Engagement Director, leslie@wayforwardresources.org if you would like to talk more about how you can support us in meeting this challenge.
Many people in our community think of WayForward Resources as a food pantry.
While WayForward (formerly Middleton Outreach Ministry) is home to one of the largest food pantries in Dane County, it also operates housing stability programs that provide case management, referrals and financial assistance. This support helps families stay in their homes so they avoid the trauma of homelessness. Last year we provided assistance to more than 600 households.
There is a housing crisis in our community. The most significant shortages are among rental units affordable for the lowest-income renters, according to the city of Madison’s most recent Housing Snapshot Report. In fact, a recent study found that Madison is the fifth-most competitive small rental market in the United States.
Why? There is simply not enough housing to accommodate the growth. Madison is on the cusp of a population explosion. The metro area is expected to add 115,000 residents between 2020 and 2050, a 42% increase. Housing experts project the community will need at least 10,000 new homes every five years to keep up, and the development of new housing has not kept pace with these projections.
One of the challenges to building enough housing is the high cost of building new apartments, driven by competition for land, drastic construction cost increases since the pandemic, limited federal funds for supporting affordable housing, and zoning restrictions. As a result, the affordable housing sector has seen an average cost increase of around 30%, according to industry leaders.
Projects that secured low-income housing tax credits since 2019 have found themselves facing unexpected financial shortfalls, leading many to seek additional funding sources to bridge these gaps. Affordable housing developers need to find money to subsidize rental costs on behalf of future residents in addition to money to build the building.
One of the ways that WayForward Resources supports the creation of more affordable housing in our community is by partnering with developers who are building through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. WayForward currently has active partnerships with two developers. We also provide housing stability and food security supports to residents at 15 different LIHTC developments in our housing service area of West Madison, Middleton and Cross Plains (our food pantry serves all of Dane County).
In the fall, WayForward joined the celebration of the opening of Uno Terrace, one of west Madison’s most recent LIHTC projects, developed with Northpointe Development, under the leadership of Principal Sean O’Brien. The housing project on Mineral Point Road has 64 units and is designed to serve those making between 30% and 80% of Dane County’s median household income.
Most importantly, the rents in the building don’t exceed more than 30% of a tenant’s wages. Affordable housing costs less than 30% of household income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The units are located on the Bus Rapid Transit line that is under construction and within walking distance to grocery stores and schools.
At Uno Terrace, Housing Stability Director Taylor Rozman (at right in the photo) worked with the city of Madison, the developer, and the property manager to pave the way for Case Manager Claire Baker (at left) to support low-income new residents as they moved into their new apartments. WayForward also provides ongoing case management and access to other services, including our food pantry. This is one of many similar partnerships WayForward has in the community, including in Middleton.
The development even incorporated the 1890s stone farm house — previously a Uno Pizzeria restaurant — and converted the local west side landmark into a community room. Over the Thanksgiving weekend last fall, according to a recent article in the Wisconsin State Journal, several families reserved the space for their holiday celebrations.
Celebrating major events at home in community with others. That’s the ultimate reflection of WayForward’s vision of building a community where everyone has the stability to thrive.
WayForward was proud to nominate Roots & Wings as Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation and Christian Huber for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy for the National Philanthropy Day Awards.
Both were honored at a ceremony at the Overture Center in November.
Roots & Wings Foundation is an essential partner that has generously donated nearly $500,000 in unrestricted funds to WayForward, increasing their funding over time to reflect the increased needs for food and housing access.
“The trust Roots & Wings places in us to carry out our mission is incredibly valuable,” says WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson, who accepted the award on behalf of the foundation.
Huber, now 14, started his journey as a philanthropist when he was eight years old, operating a cookie and lemonade stand in the summers to raise money for nonprofits.
The last few years, Christian has supported WayForward. “I like helping so many people be part of doing something good,” he says.
WayForward joined five other large Dane County food pantries last week to share the story of the rising need in the community. Household visits are up 112% over the last two years and pantry leaders shared concerns about how to continue to keep up with demand. “This serves as an emergency resource for individuals and families who are just not making enough money to cover their basic needs. Many of those seeking assistance are working full-time jobs but still struggle to make ends meet,” WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson told WKOW TV. The increase in need also received coverage in The Capital Times and on WMTV-15 News. “People in this community are generous, so that’s why we’re sharing this story,” WayForward Communications Manager Jenny Price told WMTV.
Middleton Times Tribune
Demand at Dane County pantries
WKOW 27
Dane Co. food pantries struggle with 112% increase in demand
The Capital Times
Dane County food pantries say demand surged to record highs
WMTV-15
Dane Co. food pantries seek community support as demand skyrockets
Demand at Dane Co. food pantries jumps to 112% over last two years