2007 Year In Review                                             

Thanksgiving on the Mayflower
November 12 - 16, 2007
Thank you to General Casualty, Meriter Home Health Store, Mayflower Trucking and WOLX  who collected over 13,000 pounds of food for CAC. For more information, click on this link: Thanksgiving on the Mayflower

CROP Walk / Bike / Hike / Rock for Hunger
October 14, 2007
CROP (Communities Responding To Overcome Poverty) is an interfaith, community-wide event that raises money to assist local and global hunger programs. For more information, click on this link: CROP Walk 2007

The Stephanie Miller Show
May 19, 2007
Thank you to 92.1 The MIC for arranging donations to CAC in exchange for tickets to the Stephanie Miller Show. Over $3,000 was donated at the event.



The National Association of Letter Carriers' Food Drive
Saturday, May 12, 2007

16th Annual Food Share Day
May 1, 2007
We would like to thank the 30 restaurants who donated at least 10% of their total proceeds on May 1st to benefit CAC and its Thanksgiving Food Basket Program. Food Share Day raised $4,500. This money will enable CAC to purchase the ingredients for 214 Thanksgiving food baskets which will be distributed to hungry families in Dane County at no cost.
For a  list of participating restaurants and sponsors,
click on this link: Food Share Day 2007

Feinstein Foundation’s $1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger
March 1 - April 30, 2007
When you donate food or money to CAC’s Food & Gardens Division, the Feinstein Foundation will acknowledge your donation by sending a contribution to CAC. Last year, our first year in the challenge, we were awarded the second highest grant amount in Wisconsin. For more information, click on this link: $1 Million Giveaway.

Scouting for Food
April 21, 2007
Conducted by the Glaciers Edge Council of Boy Scouts of America. Last year over 25,000 pounds of food were donated to CAC.

Golde's Futon Warehouse Offers 5% Discount
Golde's (6701 Seybold Rd.) has started an ongoing ad-campaign on 92.1 The Mic that will benefit the CAC Food Program. Anyone coming in to the store and mentioning 92.1 The Mic will get a 5% discount, which will be donated to CAC.

Food Drives at East and West Towne Malls
January 8 - 28, 2007
Together the two malls collected 1,132lbs. of food (906 meals) for Community Action Coalition!

                                              2006 Year In Review                                             

Thanksgiving Turkey Baskets
2700 food baskets were distributed to area families this year. Co-coordinated by CAC and United Way 2-1-1.
 

Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat
October 23 - November 3, 2006
Youth groups throughout Dane County collected food this fall.
Co-Sponsored by CAC and Girl Neighborhood Power.

CROP Walk / Bike / Hike / Rock for Hunger
October 8, 2006
This Church World Service event raised nearly $18,000 to benefit Dane County Food Pantries in 2005. 


Thank you to the Madison Area Star Yamaha Riders Motorcycle Club for their donation of 4 semi-loads of food and personal care items from Feed the Children valued at $200,000. Funds for this donation were raised through their hosting of a Midwest Motorcycle Rally this past summer. 
 

The Stephanie Miller Show
May 19, 2006
Thank you to 92.1 The MIC for arranging donations to CAC in exchange for tickets to the Stephanie Miller Show. $3000 and a ton of food was donated at the event.

The National Association of Letter Carriers' Food Drive
May 13, 2006
CAC wishes to thank the Capitol City Merged Branch 507 of the National Association of Letter Carriers for conduction this annual food drive to benefit CAC. This year the group secured 95,000 pounds of food which far exceeded last year's total of 65,000 pounds. CAC also  wishes to thank those who donated food.

15th Annual Food Share Day 
May 2, 2006
CAC wishes to thank the 32 participating restaurants who donated over $5,600 to fight hunger in Dane County.

Thank you to Madison Area Credit Unions for their generous donation to remodel the food warehouse in CAC's Madison office. Click here to see pictures!

Thanks to the Feinstein Foundation, CAC was able to provide a matching grant for every food and monetary donation between March 1 and April 30, 2006!

Savory Sundays
April 15, 2006
Thank you to Savory Sundays to the 41 artists who donated their work for the silent auction on behalf of CAC. The event raised $1,508.

Scouting for Food
April 8, 2006
Thank you to the Glacier's Edge Council of Boy Scouts of America  for hosting this annual food drive to benefit CAC. Over 25,000 pounds of food was donated. CAC also wishes to thank those who donated food.

CAC Gleaners is proud to collaborate with Rock and Wrap It Up, a national clearinghouse for touring musical acts to connect with local anti-hunger programs.


 

Read The Capital Times article on January 30, 2006 about Saint Vincent's food pantry.

East Towne & West Towne Malls Community Food Drive
January 12-22, 2006
Thank you to everyone who helped coordinate this effort and to shoppers who donated food to area families in need. Read more about the food drive in the Isthmus and at WKOWTV.
 

Food Pantries Do Work
Wisconsin State Journal :: OPINION :: A8
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
CHRIS BROCKEL

While I agree with your Saturday guest columnist, Norman C. Granvold, that there may be more humane ways to address hunger than through food pantries, I disagree with his assertion that shelters and pantries are "costly, ineffective, rampant with abuse and top-heavy with bureaucracies and exorbitant executive and management salaries."

He further charges that pantries do not distribute nutritional foods. To let these charges stand would be a grave disservice to the hundreds of volunteers and professionals who spend their time working to alleviate hunger, and could lead to the public perception that anti-hunger organizations do not need and are undeserving of support.

In his call for abandoning the current system, Granvold seeks change that realistically is not going to happen. Anyone familiar with the current direction of the federal budget and the continued removal of the social safety net knows this. In fact, food stamps, which work as a grocery debit card, are proposed to be cut in the latest House budget resolution.

We must understand that the utopian society Granvold seeks is still far away. We cannot abandon the current system but must work to ensure the best level of services we can offer.

Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, which coordinates the Dane County Food Pantry Network and delivers food to Dane, Jefferson and Waukesha County agencies, looks nothing like the inefficient bureaucratic behemoth Granvold describes:

In 2004, the coalition delivered, at no cost to the agencies, nearly 2.5 million pounds of food. This food came from the federal government, community food drives, donations and purchasing.

Through the coalition's Gleaners program, more than 1 million pounds of fresh and prepared perishable food, most destined for landfills, was collected and distributed throughout Dane County. This includes fruit and vegetables from local wholesalers, grocery stores and farmers.

Every Saturday during the market season, the coalition collects nearly a ton of donated items from vendors at the Dane County Farmer's Market.

The feeding agencies we supply look similar to our coalition. Some have paid staff, but the vast majority are operated by volunteers. These pantries are not in makeshift spaces. Some of the larger pantries are in high quality facilities either standing alone or as part of a larger center.

Churches with pantries have gone out of their way to provide the best possible space. As coordinators of the food pantry network, our coalition provides technical assistance, education and helps agencies communicate.

The coalition monitors all member organizations for safe food handling, accessibility and civil rights compliance.

The Community Action Coalition does none of this without the help and support of volunteers, vendors, agencies and partners, including United Way and Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin.

I urge you to look at and consider Granvold's detailed proposal for change. But also educate yourself about the current system and support it.

Brockel is coordinator of Food Security Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin Inc.