Most food pantries in the Madison area are remaining open during the coronavirus shutdown. Those located in schools, however, are closed until at least April.
Pantries have retooled their operations in an effort to keep patrons and staff safe. Instead of people selecting products, some food pantries are bagging products and offering curbside pickup. Others are limiting how many people can be in the facility at one time.
Charles McLimans, president of The River Food Pantry, typically serves more than 1,000 families a week. He expects that number will increase in the coming weeks.
“The reality is many people in the food and beverage industry are already not getting tips and are being laid off,” says McLimans. “So the need for our services is greater than ever.”
Kris Tazelaar, with Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, says his organization is “built to handle crises like this.” Second Harvest supplies food to other pantries and nonprofits in the area.
“Normally, we rely on 80 to 85 percent of our food to be donated. But in this particular case, we’re going to have to step up and purchase more food, especially more shelf-stable food,” says Tazelaar. “The costs are going to rack up fairly soon. But this is something that we’re prepared for, we are ready for, to make sure people have access to food that they need.”
The River Food Pantry and Second Harvest are seeking donations, as are other food pantries. If you are in need, call 211 to be connected to the nearest emergency food provider.
Developments relating to COVID-10 are evolving quickly. Please note that any information in this article is subject to change.
