Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin

The Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway was a blast! It was great to see so many passionate fans and food security advocates coming together. Interested in learning more and joining Hy-Vee, Inc.'s 100 Million Meals challenge? You can round up at the register at Hy-Vee, Dollar Fresh Market and Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh locations. #100MMeals

Thank you to the Conagra Brands Foundation for their very generous grant! The funds received will allow us to continue to provide equal access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally meaningful food to our neighbors. Conagra Brands has a long-standing partnership with Feeding America, working to end hunger in their communities through employee volunteerism, product donations, and financial contributions. We are so grateful for partners like Conagra Brands and their dedication to ending hunger! Together, we can #NourishFirst.

We have some VERY exciting news (drumroll please….)! Our Adopt a Dairy Cow program raised OVER $168,000! That’s equivalent to approximately 99,400 half-gallons of milk from Sassy Cow Creamery which we distribute to our partners at no cost. Thanks to the generosity of our community, our corporate sponsors, and our WONDERFUL partners, Adopt a Dairy Cow 2024 was truly "legen-dairy". P.S. Did you know that Adopt a Dairy Cow is active all year long? So, if you haven’t adopted yet, just head over to GiveDairy.com to check out the beautiful bovines!

Last month, our Executive Director joined 35 partner agencies on the steps of the state capitol to speak about the rising number of people facing food insecurity, the need for immediate support, and the need for longer-term solutions in order to distribute enough food to meet the growing need. When our community supports local food pantries, we are stronger. The event drew broad coverage from local media. Read the Wisconsin State Journal article addressing the rising need: https://lnkd.in/gSXiFEuP

Today, more than a dozen food pantries in our area came together to ask for your support to meet the incredible rise in the number of families seeking food assistance. We are proud to join them and urge you to strengthen our community through gifts of food and funds to your local food pantry and to Second Harvest.   Read the full statement at https://lnkd.in/gas8RUUb and visit https://lnkd.in/gS53Daxk to learn more about how you can help us in our mission to end hunger.

Thank you to the Evjue Foundation for supporting Second Harvest’s Farm to Foodbank Initiative! The Evjue Foundation is the charitable arm of The Capital Times and approved $1,563,000 in grants to support Madison-area nonprofits and educational institutions during the coming year. Since 1958, the Evjue Foundation has awarded over $71 million in grants since it was established by the late William T. Evjue, the founder and longtime editor and publisher of The Capital Times. Learn about how we’re providing nutritious food to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity while strengthening our local farming community: https://ow.ly/cNJt50SnAsX

Our Adopt a Dairy Cow campaign in in full swing! With 10 days left, there’s still time to have your gift matched. Nutrient-dense milk is always needed but rarely ever donated to food banks like Second Harvest. Visit GiveDairy.com to choose how many half-gallons of milk you’d like to provide and symbolically adopt a dairy cow from Sassy Cow Creamery. To make it official, you’ll even receive an adoption certificate—a perfect way to let everyone know about your new bovine buddy! THANK YOU to all of our generous campaign sponsors: Werndli Charitable Fund, the Alliant Energy Foundation, Findorff, Compeer Financial, Clack Corporation, Sassy Cow Creamery, Emmi Roth, BIOSENTINEL, INC., and WMTV 15 News. P.S. Every adoption comes with a coupon for a free quart of ice cream redeemable at Sassy Cow Creamery Store in Columbus, WI!

According to a new report issued by Feeding America, nearly 130,000 people in southwestern Wisconsin experience food insecurity—a 47% increase from the previous year. This means that 1 in 10 of our neighbors don't have enough to eat, and don't know where their next meal will come from. Nutritious food belongs to us all, and each of us can play a role in ending hunger in southwestern Wisconsin. Donate, volunteer, advocate–or start your own food drive! Visit https://lnkd.in/gS53Daxk to learn more. #NourishFirst

We wanted to give a quick shout out to two of our wonderful corporate volunteer groups, CapSpecialty and Dean Health Plan, Inc.! These groups are always such a joy to work with & we can’t thank them enough for all they do for our community. ❤️

Have you heard about The Farm Fresh Atlas? Starting in 2002, REAP Food Group started collecting Wisconsin farms, farmers' markets, restaurants, stores and other businesses that sell local food and use sustainable production and business practices. Now, these listings are updated on an annual basis and exist on a website and as a print publication. The goal? To connect Wisconsinites and visitors to the incredible agricultural heritage and nutritious food throughout the state. Check it out for yourself at farmfreshatlas.org!