MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The St. Vincent de Paul District of Marinette food pantry has seen its demand skyrocket this year, demonstrating the growing issue of food insecurity in Northeast Wisconsin.
With in-kind donations plummeting and grocery costs surging, the pantry is appealing for the community’s assistance.
According to Ashley Berken, St. Vincent de Paul’s executive director, the pantry has served 492,000 pounds of food since 2023 began and estimates it will distribute 600,000 pounds by the end of the year.
Distribution is on track to more than double last year’s record-breaking numbers, marking a 175% year-over-year increase.
Marinette’s St. Vincent de Paul food pantry alone has supported more than 5,000 families so far in 2023, including 3,100 children and nearly 2,700 senior citizens.
Full-time staff positions and additional food distributions have been enacted to help combat the community’s rising need, but the demand continues to surge.
“We have been blessed to offer additional off-site food distributions this year. However, even with this continued increase in food resources, the demand keeps rising,” Berken said in a news release.
“Each and every day that we distribute food, whether on or off-site, we have people in line before the sun comes up, waiting for hours in their vehicles for food. And each and every week, more and more people are waiting earlier and earlier. It’s truly heartbreaking.”
Pantry staff is making an urgent appeal for financial support in order to help the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Marinette continue to serve its community.
Donations can be made online or by mailing a check to PO Box 1111, Marinette, WI 54143.
Another means of aiding the pantry’s cause is by shopping at the St. Vincent de Paul District of Marinette thrift store. All proceeds are “channeled directly to fund the organization’s community programs.”
