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SNAP UPDATE: OUR COMMUNITY'S RESPONSE

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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.

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

WayForward Resources had the honor of joining the Middleton Common Council at their meeting on September 16 to officially proclaim September 2025 as Hunger Action Month in Middleton.

The Proclamation highlighted that 9% of Dane County residents are food insecure and recognized that food insecurity is a systemic issue that leads to greater risks of nutrition-related illnesses. It also acknowledged how WayForward Resources’ Food Pantry helps residents facing food insecurity by providing nutritious food and making living in Middleton more affordable.

Thank you to the Council and the City of Middleton for your support, partnership, and recognition of our work together to address food insecurity, ensuring everyone in our community has access to enough nutritious food to thrive.

 

Read Proclamation

Join us in welcoming Melissa Martinez to the WayForward Resources team! Melissa started in late-June as our Accounting Assistant, a newly created role in the Finance and Operations Department. Her professional background includes 10 years of experience in the accounting field. While working in the nonprofit realm is new, she has volunteered at other nonprofit organizations throughout her college career. Melissa has a BA from UW-Milwaukee. In her free time, she loves to travel with her family, take camping trips, or hang out at the beach with her mini.  While she tries to make the most out of the summer season, she also doesn’t mind a cool Sunday night during football season.

Last June, we shared a message with you: for the first time in our over forty-year history, we weren’t sure we could meet the need for food in our community. WayForward had led the effort to bring together 36 food pantries from across Dane County to write a letter to the community, which began with, “Dane County, we need your help.” We wrote that food pantries across the county were experiencing drastic increases in demand for food. In just two years, visits to WayForward’s food pantry tripled—and we were struggling to keep up. The letter ran in the Wisconsin State Journal and was read on the steps of the Capitol at a press conference. You responded with immediate generosity. With this increased support, we were able to purchase more food so that guests coming to get food saw choices instead of empty shelves.

What has happened in the year since our letter to the community? Last year, we told you we didn’t expect this increased need for food to go away quickly–and it hasn’t. Two years ago, we gave out over 1.6 million pounds of food—a large jump from the year before. The rise was driven by a growing population, food inflation, and, most importantly, higher rent prices that require people to devote more of their limited income toward rent in order to avoid eviction. Last year, the number of pounds we gave out inched up a little more—setting another record for WayForward. However, this number doesn’t fully represent the increased pressure we felt this year.

Last year, more people came to WayForward than ever before—and they came more frequently. We had, on average, 120 more unique households coming to the food pantry each month. To meet this large increase in visits with only a small increase in food, we have limits in place to stretch our food further. Thanks to your continued support, we’ve never had to turn anyone away—and we’re proud of that. But unfortunately, people are taking on average less food than they did before because less food is available.

There have also been significant changes in how we get food. As demand has increased throughout the county and beyond, our traditional sources of free and reduced-priced food have also struggled to keep up, meaning there are fewer options and smaller amounts of this free and reduced-price food available. To make sure we have a variety of food on our shelves, we must purchase more food—and the food we purchase is more expensive. Last year, we purchased 63% more pounds than just the year before. Combining this with the higher prices means our food purchasing budget has increased drastically—going up more than sixfold in just five years.  

What lies ahead next year? We feel encouraged by the increased conversations about housing across Dane County, but we know price relief is not coming in the immediate future. What may be coming in the immediate future, though, is drastic cuts to other food assistance programs. At the time of this writing, the House of Representatives advanced a reconciliation bill that would cut SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) by about 30 percent, nearly $300 billion, over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Nearly 8% of people in Dane County use SNAP to meet their nutritional needs. Without some drastic changes to how systems operate, food pantries would not be able to bridge this gap.  

What do all these numbers mean, and what can we do about it? These numbers mean making sure our neighbors have access to nutritious food has never been more challenging. And it means your support is more important than ever. We continue to think creatively about how we can get food to people—and we continue to rely on our community to help us. While we had a record-breaking year in demand for our services last year, it was also a record-breaking year in community support. When we see the Middleton Meals Matter high school students standing outside in the freezing cold at the grocery store collecting food donations for us or when we have donors tell us they see the challenges and are increasing their gift to help us meet them, we feel hope that together we can continue to create stability despite the obstacles. Thank you for making our work possible.

Photo Above: Middleton Meals Matter and Middleton Kiwanis volunteers with the food they collected from a community drive this winter for WayForward Resources pantry.

Valerie Cavanagh, our new Development Director, joined the WayForward Resources team in mid-May. Valerie was introduced to the field of fundraising while serving as an AmeriCorp VISTA member at The ARC of Lane County in Eugene, Oregon. After witnessing how important funding sources are to nonprofits, she has dedicated her fundraising career to connecting donor interests to impactful funding opportunities. Valerie is a seasoned fundraiser with 14 years of experience, including the American Red Cross and The University of Texas at Arlington. Her expertise spans from annual giving, prospect development, donor stewardship to major gifts. Valerie holds a BA in cultural anthropology from Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. Being new to Madison, you may see Valerie exploring the beautiful local landscape with her husband, cheering on her kids in their activities, or attending music offerings while creating choreography to the music in her head. She is also the mother hen of two red moyen poodles and the cutest pair of cats.

WayForward Resources is proud and excited to welcome four new members to our board of directors–Christopher Morris, Andrea Van Nest, Christin Mlsna (pictured left to right), and Tom Qualls (not pictured)!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude and thanks to three retiring board members–Ginger Benz, Susannah Gustafson, and Brian Hornung!

Thank you to our incoming and outgoing board members for sharing your time, talents, and dedication with us. Your leadership is vital to helping create food security and housing stability in our community!

A year-end message from WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson

It’s been another year of unprecedented growth at WayForward. For an organization that focuses on providing the basic building blocks of stability–food and housing, growth is both positive and negative.

On one hand, we have made an impact on more people’s lives than ever before. Thanks to the support of the community, we have been able to serve over 13,000 people last year–more than twice as many as the year before. That means twice as many people have been able to avoid eviction and stay in their homes and have received the nutritious food they need.

On the other hand, our organizational growth has been driven by the tremendous rise in demand for our services. That’s why unprecedented growth is also cause for concern. We are seeing three times as many visits to our food pantry as we did just two years ago, and our case managers are booking emergency housing appointments out weeks in advance.

Numbers like these mean many visitors are coming to our food pantry for the first time. In fact, 50% of people who came to the food pantry last year were first-time visitors. Children and families with children are overrepresented. Around 75% percent of people who received food were in households with children. And nearly 100% of families served by our Connections program, a housing program that works with those in doubled-up housing situations, have children.

Key factors in this increased demand for our services include the rise in food prices, the population growth in Dane County and in Middleton and west Madison specifically, and perhaps most significantly, the increase in housing prices in our area. While we have a very low unemployment rate in Dane County, many of these jobs don’t pay enough to cover the rising cost of living here. Community members who were just barely making ends meet before are now unable to absorb a $150/month rent increase. With no increase in pay and nowhere cheaper to rent, they are turning to WayForward to bridge the gap.

These are big problems–problems that are greater than anything WayForward can address alone. And with the affordable housing gap widening and housing prices continuing to rise, we expect the number of people unable to cover the basic expenses of food and housing to continue to grow. We are committed to continuing to adapt, innovate and expand and to do all we can to make sure people have the food and stable housing they need to lay a solid foundation.

We also know that problems that are larger than us require solutions that are larger than us. We have already seen the community responding with growing support. Thank you. As we have shared with you what we are seeing, we are continuously met with offers to join the effort to build a strong community where everyone has the basic building blocks of stability. Because of your support, we have raised more dollars and brought in more community donated food this year than any previous year in our history. This is what has made it possible for us to serve more people than ever before.

In the months and years ahead, we will continue to need your support. As we expect to see demand continuing to increase, the only way we can meet it is with increased support. There are a number of ways you can still make a tax-deductible financial donation this year. Donations of your time or donations of food can also make an immediate difference. You can purchase items directly from our wish list or use our top 10 list to purchase items locally.

Donations like these help us address the immediate needs of the people coming in our doors every day. But we know that we must do more and dig deeper to address the larger issues that are leading to this increased need for food and housing support in our community. We invite you to learn more about these issues and add your voice to the conversations to develop larger, community-wide solutions. We will be hosting some opportunities in this coming year and sharing some opportunities hosted by others.

Our mission statement says we bring the community together to create food and housing security. We know the only way to create stability is through a community-wide effort. Thank you for joining with us this past year. We look forward to continuing to work together in 2025.

Sincerely,

Ellen Carlson, Executive Director

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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.

LISTEN

 

 

 

 

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