Food pantry charts increases in need; seeks donations

By Chris Spangler

It is no surprise that donations to help feed the hungry increase during November and December.

’Tis the season of giving, after all.

But the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry operates year-round, and contributions have dropped while the need continues to rise.

Treasurer Gary Thom said that the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry Board of Directors likely will have to take nearly $40,000 from its limited savings to cover anticipated needs for 2024.

He explained that expenses totaled $120,353 in 2022 and $155,539 in 2023. As of this past October, they were at $96,577, so he expects the pantry to fall short about $38,333 this year.

From January through October, expenses over income were $52,957.98; last year, that number was $87,523.

“We have been dipping into our contingency fund for the last two years,” Thom said, adding that it likely will have to take at least $25,000 out this year.

The treasurer explained that expenses are broken down into three categories: food distributed at the pantry, SmartyPacks to feed students on weekends and holiday breaks and other operational expenses. In the past few years, the pricetag of all have risen.

“COVID was very good for us, though I kind of hate to say it. Everyone was aware of the need, and surprisingly, the numbers (of pantry users) were consistent,” Thom said. “They didn’t jump up as much as we thought they were going to during COVID because of the government money that was going to people.

“Now they had some money, so instead of building their nest egg, they could go to the store and buy the kids, say, the cereal they want and not just something we gave them. They were feeling better about themselves because they had money for once,” he added.

During that time, the pantry was able to build a little bit of its own contingency fund for unforeseen circumstances.

“We are blessed by being housed in the Jones Dairy Farm building; they cover so much for us. But what if we had to move?” he said, speaking hypothetically. “It would be nice to be able to go to the (Fort Atkinson) community foundation and have enough money to seek a matching grant.”

In addition, the volunteer food pantry manager’s job involves so much more now than in the past, and were Debbie Kutz ever to step down, again hypothetically, it would be very difficult to replace her without paying a salary.

“I don’t know if you could get someone to volunteer to do that job anymore. There aren’t people coming up through the ranks,” Thom said.

Families served

Through October this year, 2,761 families were served at the pantry, compared to 2,104 in those months in 2022 and 2,511 last year. The annual totals were 2,625 in 2022 and 3,050 in 2023.

Vicky Keogh, corresponding secretary for the pantry, said that this past September, 298 families were served, representing a 15% increase from that month last year.

“We served 837 individuals within those families, up 34% from last year. The 837 individuals served is the highest number served this year,” she said.

And that does not include the 193 SmartyPacks given each week to schoolchildren for weekend meals.

A program through Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, SmartyPacks include two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and snacks for Saturday and Sunday. More is given for holiday weekends and breaks.

“We started providing food for the elementary schools to ensure children have food for the weekend,” Keogh said. “We currently provide food for 190 children per week. In addition, we provide food when needed to the middle school, high school and Madison College.  During 2020, we added on-line ordering so that people can order food online and have it ready for pickup to save time.”

In 2022, a total 5,954 SmartyPacks were provided. Last year, that rose to 8,013.

The average value of each SmartyPack last year was $5.50. Multiply that by 193 each of 33 weeks and it quickly adds up.

“That is where we started seeing the dip in not being able to meet the needs without going into the contingency funds that we had,” Thom said.

The cost is high because SmartyPacks require the pricier individual servings only.

Thom said that in 2022, the pantry board of directors took $34,000 out of its contingency fund to cover expenses. Last year, it needed $75,000.

The increased cost of food and SmartyPacks, as well as growing number of families served, are the “triple whammy” for the Fort Atkinson Food Pantry, he said.

While the expenses keep rising, income generally remains about the same each year. As of October, the pantry counted $43,619 in income for 2024. Income for the entirety of 2022 was $85,926 and of 2023 was $80,239.

“Most of our money comes in November and December. We will get probably $45,000 now in those two months,” Thom said. “We appreciate that, but it’s the same people. During COVID, we got new people, but now we’re back to the same donors.”

He continued: “The holidays are tough on a lot of families and our community has typically responded to the needs of our customers.”

He said that the Mike Foerster Real Estate Group provides Christmas meal gift cards at Festival Foods and the Turkey Club provides turkeys before Thanksgiving.

“We do still have to buy turkeys and chickens to meet the needs of our clients, but these contributions help a lot,” Thom said. “In addition, of course, we still need to provide for the basics (milk, eggs, cereal, etc.) during the holidays. In general, our costs do go up, but so do donations.”

Unfortunately, donations often drop off after the holidays.

“We are trying to make people aware that there is a growing need for our services year-round,” Thom said.

How the pantry works

The pantry’s two main food sources are Second Harvest, which provides food much cheaper than were the pantry to shop at a supermarket, and the Community Action Coalition, which is the licensed distributor of free government food.

Pantry volunteers must travel to the CAC’s new site in Jefferson to pick up the food. When there is a big shipment, the pantry borrows the truck at St. Vincent De Paul to transport it to Fort Atkinson.

“We buy a lot of our dairy stuff from Kwik Trip. Our milk, our eggs, our cheese, our butter, our fresh bread come from there,” Thom said.

In addition, Festival Foods, Pick n’ Save, Piggly Wiggly in Cambridge, Kwik Trip and Pizza Hut donate a lot of food to the pantry.

“When we need to buy something, we turn around and support them,” he said of those businesses.

While the pantry purchases a lot of food, it relies greatly on the food drives for staples such as peanut butter, canned soups and vegetables,” Thom said, noting that the Knights of Columbus at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church holds a large drive each year that focuses on vegetables.

“Then there are cute things like schools that do a jelly drive, because we will not buy jelly. No nutritional value,” he explained.

That all happened because years ago, some Rockwell Elementary School students delivered food to the pantry following a drive and then toured the facility.

“They were shocked to learn that the pantry did not give out jelly to go with the peanut butter. Thus began the jelly drive,” Thom said. “It’s things like that that we really do rely on.”

The food pantry also relies on volunteers, including those from six churches that each provide volunteers two months each year six months apart. They are First Congregational United Church of Christ, First United Methodist Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Grace United Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and Trinity Lutheran Church.

“It’s so easy to get volunteers, and the people really enjoy it,” Thom said, adding that there also are other pantry volunteers who stock shelves. “They can be involved as much as they want.”

Keogh reported that last year, 187 volunteers worked a total 5,538 hours, although not all helpers log their hours. There were 12 people who each volunteered more than 100 hours in 2023.

“We have volunteers who get everything ready on Monday and Thursday mornings (for the afternoon distribution),” she said. “In addition, we have volunteers who deliver food, volunteers who pack the SmartyPacks and volunteers who work when the pantry is open.”

Who uses the pantry?

Thom said that the families picking up food are very grateful for the assistance. He recalled a single mom with two sons who once told him, “I come here, my son can be in football this fall.”

“People don’t realize that the dollar just doesn’t go as far as it once did,” he said.

While there are regular pantry users, that is the exception rather than the rule.

“Most of them, you see them for two months and they’re gone, and then maybe you’ll see them again in a year. I would say the majority of people are not regulars. We are supposed to be a temporary fix,” Thom said.

Keogh added, “We have a growing number of homeless people we are serving. We have bigger-sized families, plus we are seeing an increase in the number of single people being served. Also, food prices are rising and people who were able to buy enough food in the past are no longer able to do this.”

Taking the total number of families served divided by the value, a family of four to five that takes all the items offered — and many do not  — received $198 worth of food last year.

“It sounds like a lot, but now, they can only feed their family for a month because they can only come here once a month. That food will only get them through the week or maybe 10 days if they make good choices,” Thom said. “But who can feed their family of four on $198 for a month?”

He said that the pantry now is seeing more senior citizens, generally a generation that has been too proud to seek a handout. In October, 92 people age 60-plus were counted, although that included more than 50 home deliveries.

The pantry’s board will be rethinking the home deliveries, however, because they require volunteer manpower and transportation. It likely will require recipients to give a valid reason for food delivery.

“But most of the people who come through that door, they’re so humble and so embarrassed to have to ask for help,” Thom said.

How you can help

People may donate to the pantry in general or specifically to the SmartyPack program, and they can do it online.

“The ones that I love are the monthly donations,” Thom said, noting that about 10 people do an automatic payment through Paypal, though he would like that to grow.

He said that nonperishable food donations also are very welcome. The wish list includes pancake mix, pancake syrup, baked beans, applesauce, one-pound bags of rice, canned pasta, canned chicken, peanut butter, macaroni-and-cheese, canned fruit, cereal (especially kids’ cereals and Cheerios), pasta, canned carrots, vegetable beef soup and individual cereal items for the SmartyPacks.

“Some people say they like to give the product, because it has more meaning. But over here, if we’ve got the cash, we can make the cash go further,” Thom said. 

“You’ve got a commitment and you’re tied to it when you do a food drive. The people who gave you a half a bag of groceries feel better than those who wrote a check for $25. It’s psychological: ‘I’m giving this kid jelly because he’s not going to have jelly if I don’t give it to him.’ Whereas, ‘give them the money and they won’t buy him his jelly,’” he added.

Located at 715 Jones Ave., the food pantry is open from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays. Donations may be dropped off between 9 and 11 a.m. those days.

Financial contributions may be made by visiting fortatkinsonfoodpantry.org or sending a check to: Fort Atkinson Food Pantry, P.O. Box 275, Fort Atkinson, WI, 53538-0275. They also may be dropped off at the Fort Community Credit Union.

The pantry serves families residing in the School District of Fort Atkinson. Persons wishing to volunteer at the pantry may call 920-563-6992 or email info@fortatkinsonfoodpantry.org. Spanish interpreters are particularly needed.