The Wisconsin Food Security Consortium, representing diverse sectors in the fight against hunger, is dedicated to the elimination of food insecurity in Wisconsin. The Consortium serves as a forum to develop and promote effective solutions through networking, education, collaboration, new partnerships and public policy that measurably reduce hunger.

Recent reports highlight the extent of food hardship

Feb. 2010– According to 2 new reports, Wisconsin families continue to struggle to meet their food needs.

An analysis of a Gallup survey by the Food Research and Action Center showed that in 2008 and 2009, 15.3% of Wisconsin residents reported that they didn't have enough money to buy food that they needed at some time during the past year. This food hardship rate jumps to 20.9% for households with children. This first ever study of its kind includes analysis of food hardship for every state, and a breakdown for all 436 congressional districts and major metropolitan areas. While food hardship in this report is not defined or measured in the same way as food insecurity (and as such, rates of food hardship and food security cannot be directly compared) both provide real measures of families’ struggles. For details of this study, and all the data breakdowns, ... [read more]

In addition, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and Feeding America, reported that nearly 141,000 people (43% of whom are children), received emergency food each year through the Foodbank’s agencies. This represents an 83% increase since the findings reported by Second Harvest in 2006. Of households surveyed, nearly 3 in 4 were food insecure.... [read more]

The Consortium visits Milwaukee

Dec. 2009 – Early in 2009, the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium steering committee decided that in order to best understand the challenges posed by hunger in different parts of our state, the WFSC would hold two of its four quarterly meetings on the road...On November 2, 2009, the Consortium took the second of its road trip meetings to Milwaukee County... [read more]

Article highlights soaring food stamp program participation

Nov. 2009 – On 11/28/2009, the New York Times ran a front page story on changes in food stamp use nationwide, along with associated changes in perceptions of the program.  Highlighted are the dramatic increases in participation, particularly in Wisconsin.  For more:

Read the entire New York Times article

View an interactive map from the article (Select the “Change since 2007” button for a look at how Wisconsin’s increase compares to other states)

New food insecurity numbers show dramatic increases

Nov. 2009 — The annual USDA report on food insecurity in the US was just released, and the story is not good for the US or for Wisconsin. While not terribly surprising given the economy, the numbers are still rather staggering... ALSO: Listen to the WPR report and read the Wisconsin State Journal article that were inspired by this report... [read more]

LIHEAP payments mean big news for FoodShare recipients

Sept. 2009 — Good news for low-income households receiving Food Share benefits! Thanks to some strategic moves between WISCAP, the Department of Health Services, and the Department Of Administration, many households around the state saw an increase in their monthly Food Share benefits, which means millions of dollars of revenue to our community in the form of federal nutrition aid. Here’s what happened... [read more]

Congrats to our award-winning steering committee member!

Aug. 2009 — The Wisconsin Food Security Consortium's very own Toni Rogers was awarded the Wisconsin Department of Health Services' 14 Carrot Gold Award, celebrating the promotion of increased fruit and vegetable consumption in Wisconsin... [read more]

WFSC Steering Committee visits northern Wisconsin

July 2009 — In early 2009, the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium decided that instead of hosting four quarterly Full Consortium meetings in Madison, the steering committee and interested Consortium members would branch out and visit other areas of the state. On June 24, the steering committee set out on its first official road trip: to the Minocqua/Rhinelander area... [read more]

Older News

WFSC writes to the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee

How does the 2009 economic stimulus address hunger?

The 2008/2009 Regional Hunger Forums: A Success!

The Wisconsin Food Security Consortium is commended by Governor Jim Doyle!

 
Support for this site has been made possible by the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Council of Churches, and the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association.