Falls Food Pantry Nears Fundraising Goal

The Menomonee Falls Area Food Pantry is closing in on its fundraising goal to help cover the cost of its new building, food pantry officials said last week.  

The food pantry is about $25,000 away from a $200,000 capital goal that was set to help pay for the cost of its new home, located at N85W15382 Menomonee River Parkway, according to director Kathy Wodushek. 

"We have a little bit more to go, but we are confident that it can happen. We are ever so grateful that Menomonee Falls has a need and … the community is filling it," said Robin Manke, the president of the food pantry's board of directors. 

"With the addition of the building, we have put ourselves out there and people really know about the food pantry," she added.  

The new facility, which opened in August, has created more publicity for the food pantry, resulting in more people in need knowing about the service. For example, the food pantry served 52 clients on Tuesday. In the past, the food pantry would have served 52 clients in a week. 

"We are now serving a whole lot more people," Manke said. "This is a community that has come together and supported this." 

As of the end of October, 1,342 people, including 475 children, were registered to receive food with the pantry, according to statistics kept by Wodushek. 

"That number will grow before the year is over," said Wodushek. "We had a lady sign up, who was 98 … that's heartbreaking. And then, of course the children."  

In addition to the building costs, the food pantry has ongoing expenses to cover. These expenses consist of food and utility costs.

"There is a constant need for donations," said Wodushek, who noted food items and cash donations are always welcomed at the food pantry. "It's a beautiful thing for the community because it means that people can get the food they need." 

The food pantry has created an adopt-a-shelf and adopt-a-utility initiatives. Businesses wishing to participate in the adopt-a-shelf initiative will provide the food for a shelf during a month. A business wishing to participate in the adopt-a-utility, in which it they pay utility bill for the pantry during a certain month.   

The need in Menomonee Falls is derived from the elderly on a fixed income, the underemployed and the unemployed, who struggle to make ends meet. 

"The fixed income is not cutting it as utility and food prices continue to go up," Manke said. The underemployed and the unemployed "may not have a life-sustaining income."