Food Ending Hunger

Food Pantry

The Food Pantry is MOM's flagship operation.  Operating year round, six days per week, we serve nearly 600 households each month, including around 1,500 children.

Not only one of the largest in Dane County, the Food Pantry is one of the most progressive pantries because of it's unique model.  Guests to the Pantry can take as much food as they can use and can visit as often as they need, effectively eliminating hunger for anyone in our service area.  MOM proudly partners with Second Harvest Food Bank and Community Action Coalition, and receives support from businesses and foundations throughout the community as well as over a hundred volunteers.  By the end of 2011, MOM was giving out over 60,000 pounds of food per month, enough to fill nearly a semi-truck-and-a-half full of food.

Mobile Food Pantry

The Food Pantry is just one of the ways that MOM is ending hunger.   In order to make sure we are reaching all people in need in our community, MOM operates a Mobile Food Pantry, serving two low-income apartment complexes.  Guests at these complexes have a hard time reaching our Food Pantry due to transportation and mobility issues, and greatly look forward to their visit from the MOM truck!

Food Pantry Garden

MOM operates a Food Pantry Garden as well as a teaching garden.  This garden is managed by volunteers and supported by several businesses throughout the community as well as the Community Action Coalition, Fiskars and Willy Street Co-op.  The produce from the garden is donated directly to the Food Pantry and guests are thrilled with the fresh food choices throughout the summer and enjoy being able to feed their families delicious, nutritious fruits and vegetables.  

The teaching garden gives customers their own small plot, where they are being taught how to grow food.  Customers are able to keep some of the produce for their families and donate some to the Food Pantry. In 2011, the garden grew 6,500 pounds of food.  Read more on our blog, and see NBC15's video coverage of the program.  Also, watch our  slideshow of photos from this year's garden.

Snack Bag Program

To help address school hunger amongst at-risk students, MOM provides Snack Bags to MCPASD school social workers, as the free and reduced meals students are eligible to receive don't always cover the many circumstances some of them face.   Bags are given to students who end up in the social worker's offices, hungry and lacking energy to get through the school day.  Food is also given to students whose lives are transitional and need extra food to get them from day to day.