The River Food Pantry, like all other pantries in Dane County, has grown tremendously since the beginning of this year.
The economy, which had not been very good for those at the low end, has worsened. Many people are making their very first visit to a food pantry.
When seen against that background, our service numbers are not surprising. We experienced a surge in participating households in January which has not let up. In April we served 1,100 households. The first four months of 2008 have seen a 59% pantry usage increase over the same time frame last year.
Last year, when we were getting too busy on Friday evenings, we opened a second evening on Tuesdays. By April of this year both Fridays and Tuesdays became extremely busy again. We were able to add a third pantry session over the noon hour on Tuesdays after receiving a donation to fully fund that purpose.
We continue to be blessed with volunteer groups from area churches, MATC and the University of Wisconsin. We are still an almost 100% volunteer staffed organization. We now have one employee, Jenny Czerkas, who handles most of the administrative and organizational tasks for the pantry.
Please continue to support the pantry through prayer, volunteering as well as financially. We continue to depend on your help to serve our needy neighbors. Thank you for your steadfast support.
Volunteer Opportunities
There are a number of different ways you can help at the River Food Pantry! If you are interested in helping stock shelves, cook, clean or help clients through the food pantry, below are the times in which we could really use help.
Mondays: We stock shelves, clean the facilities, sort clothing. We are not open to the public. Approximate hours: 11 – 4:00 P.M.
Tuesdays: Tasks include assisting clients in the pantry, cleaning up, helping clients in the free clothing area. Approximate hours: 12 – 1:30 P.M. and 5 – 6:30 P.M.
Thursdays: We stock shelves, clean the facilities, sort clothing and do prep work for Friday’s meal. We are not open to the public. Approximate hours: 12 – 4:00 P.M.
Friday Evenings: We are open to the public. Tasks include cooking, assisting clients in the pantry, serving meals/cleaning up, helping clients in the free clothing area. Approximate hours: 4:30 – 8:30 P.M.
Additionally, we need assistance with fundraising, writing newsletter articles, grant writing, truck maintenance, CPA expertise and legal services. For more information how you can help in any one of these areas, please feel free to contact Andy or Jenny Czerkas at (608) 442-8815 or e-mail river@therivermadison.org.
Finally, The River will be staffing a concession booth at Camp Randall for Badger football games at home later this summer and Badger basketball games at the Kohl Center later in the fall. Volunteering at the Badger games is an excellent way to help The River with fundraising. The River receives a percentage of gross sales. If you are interested in volunteering your time and dates of upcoming games, please contact Tom Thuemling at (608) 712-5585.