Here & Now

Food Insecurity in Wisconsin

Frederica Freyberg:

Our next guest oversees the largest hunger relief organization in the state, serving more than 4,000 people through 600 food pantries. Patti Habeck is president of Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin. Thanks for being here.

Patti Habeck:

Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is the situation right now with people experiencing food insecurity in Wisconsin?

Patti Habeck:

We’ve never seen anything like this. The need is great and it still is growing to some extent. And hunger relief right now is a tough place to work. We have 40% of the people that are visiting food pantries right now have never been in the hunger relief system before, adding an additional layer of stress and unknowns for families.

Frederica Freyberg:

So who are the people that are kind of newly reaching out?

Patti Habeck:

So a lot of individuals who either lost their employment or for health reasons are homebound and unable to work. It’s families who have been in the system who are experiencing extended or more challenges in their families. It might be families who have college kids who have returned home or families who typically have young children who rely on the school system for food and now have more pressure on their household system for food.

Frederica Freyberg:

It’s hard for anyone obviously newly reaching out or those who have been doing that all along and have new needs. But is it rural and urban and everywhere in between?

Patti Habeck:

Absolutely. The territory that we cover has urban areas in southeast Wisconsin as well as the rural areas and even small metro areas. And what I’m seeing when I go out in community is hunger looks slightly different if you’re in an urban area versus rural, but the issues are all the same. Families are facing really challenging times no matter where you are. Resources are slim. And so our work is necessary. And the work of the network of food pantries is more necessary now than we’ve ever seen.

Frederica Freyberg:

I know a total of something like $75 million has come through the state and the Department of Agriculture to help. Is this enough to meet demand?

Patti Habeck:

It has been an incredible assistance. I don’t know what we would have done if the state and federal government hadn’t come up with some dollars to help and assist in the hunger relief. But you have to keep in mind that it’s still only a portion of what we actually need. We still rely on manufacturers and growers and grocers and retailers to fill the gap. Food is a consumable commodity. So families receive food. They eat food. They need food the next day. So we’re constantly working to provide that nutritious food, particularly during the pandemic. Nutrition matters. It matters all the time, but particularly right now. We’re really working to get that high nutrition-dense food out into the families.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what kind of food can be produced from producers to stock the shelves of a pantry or donation site?

Patti Habeck:

Right now we are really pushing for fresh produce, which has its own distribution challenges but we know that that’s one of the biggest products, best products that we can get out there. Proteins, so things like meats and peanut butter and nuts and grains. Also dairy products. We’ve been really pushing in those three categories. Those are our biggest distribution categories. But then we also have to work on shelf-stable items because some households don’t have access to be able to prepare food and so shelf-stable, easy-to-heat-up soups and things like that have been really needed right now.

Frederica Freyberg:

Just briefly, with about a half minute left, what more needs to be done to help fill this demand?

Patti Habeck:

The first thing we always say it is really necessary to help bring these COVID numbers down. Really starting in your own household, what can you do to help prevent exposures, to prevent the spread of the virus? If we can get these numbers down, we’re able to then keep the system healthy and reach out. Beyond that, we always say food, funds and friends. If you can donate time to volunteer and funds to support our purchasing programs right now, that would be really necessary.

Frederica Freyberg:

Patti Habeck, thank you very much and thanks for your work.

Patti Habeck:

Thank you.