Food Insecurity, Hygiene Kits, and a Day of Action!

On May 6th, High School students in Bonduel spent time with our United Way and several other partners learning about food insecurity, how organizations work against it, and spent time on a service project for the Shawano-Menominee Food Coalition. 

A Presentation Close to Home

The day began with a presentation from Uriah at our United Way about the ALICE numbers in our area, what food insecurity is, and the compounding issues it leads to. He was joined by representatives from the Bonduel Community Food Pantry who were able to talk with students about what they see in their own town, a representative from Foundations Youth Services who presented on the services she can provide for youth facing food insecurity, and the Executive Director of SAM25 who shared about their services and homelessness intersects with food insecurity. 

Hygiene Kits

After the presentation, students came together to package hygiene kits that will be distributed between the food pantries involved in our Food Coalition. Over 350 kits were packaged and each kit is designed to last a recipient for a month of hygiene needs! These kits were supported by monetary grants from the Elizabeth Street Business Complex and the WI Realtor Association with a recommendation for our local realtor Donna Hobscheid of Coldwell Banker. We received in-kind item donations as well from Shawano Family Dentistry, Safe Haven of Shawano County, and Foundations Youth Services.

As we wrapped up the event, we shared with students the work that goes into planning an effort like this. Many were surprised to hear how much an event like this cost to run or learn about making hard decisions between affording food or hygiene items.

On May 27th, Uriah from United Way and Kendra from SAM25 delivered the packaged kits to the Shawano Area Food Center. Every food pantry in our service area uses the food center to pick up their food shipments. This will ensure these hygiene kits support the whole Food Coalition!