<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0OpNsg_1GpSkgUD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0OpNsg_1GpSkgUD00" width="980" height="735" ></figure>Maddie Kalscheuer, WayForward’s food and resource access manager, stocks the refrigerator case with dairy items.It is Saturday morning at WayForward Resources in Middleton. The building is nondescript, white, warehouselike. Eighty people. including children, are waiting in line until the door to the food pantry’s shopping area opens in 15 minutes.That line alone shows how the hunger problem is growing. Need was already great when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were restricted by the so-called Big Beautiful Bill; now rising prices in food, gas and rent are tightening family budgets further.This pantry, along with similar facilities in the Madison area, is an essential safety net for families who might otherwise go hungry. Like many nonprofits, they are picking up the slack as government services decline.WayForward has faced the growing need through awareness campaigns, including a panel discussion at the Middleton Public Library as a part of food action month, and a big community-supported food drive, September’s Take Action Against Hunger Challenge. That drive collected 27,753 pounds of non-perishable food for the food pantry.While other pantries like Madison’s The River have expanded into larger headquarters, WayForward is making do with a very modest footprint — just 4,100 square feet of storage space, with another 2,700 for shopping. Yet WayForward supplied more than 1.9 million pounds of food and the equivalent of 132,880 meals per month this past fiscal year, ending in March 2026.As the pantry visitors wait, at the other end of the one-story building a refrigerated truck lettered “WayForward Resources” is being unloaded by volunteers. Some of the food is on pallets, some is in shopping carts — items ranging from fresh raspberries to sandwich bread. Shelves more than 20 feet high are crammed with goods, with stacks of boxes organized to create pathways for workers. Fresh food is sorted out quickly and brought to the shopping area.WayForward is one of several large food pantries serving Madison and Dane County, including St. Vincent de Paul, The River Food Pantry, Badger Prairie Needs Network, the Goodman Community Center and the Sun Prairie Food Pantry (Sunshine Place). This past April these six organizations collaborated on their first group order, 20 tons of beef delivered through Second Harvest Foodbank, an aggregator and distributor serving 16 counties in southern Wisconsin.WayForward employs three full-time employees in the food access program, assisted by volunteers in all stages of the distribution process. Each day, staff members look at inventory, estimate possible demand, and place orders. One third of its food, more than half a million pounds, comes from nonprofit partners, the largest being Second Harvest. Another third is donated food — these are called “rescues” — and come from Aldi, Costco, Kwik Trip, McDonald’s, Metcalfe’s, Metro Market, Willy Street Co-op, the distributor Certco, as well as cafeterias at businesses including Exact Sciences. “Often these shipments come in blind,” says Ron Radunzel, community food logistics manager. “We often do not know what will come in.”Eighteen percent of food is purchased. “We use cash when we are short on staples or other items we see an immediate need for,” says Maggie Milcarek, food and resource access director for WayForward.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1OdcuL_1GpSkgUD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1OdcuL_1GpSkgUD00" width="980" height="735" ></figure>A volunteer packs groceries to be delivered to those unable to shop in person.The final 15% of goods come from individual donations and food drives. Those items are inspected using guidelines on what can be put on the shelf. For example, many dry goods are accepted up to two years after the expiration date, a can with a dent on the seam ends up in the trash bin, fruit and vegetables unsuitable for distribution are put in a compost bin. Donations may include items the pantry can’t get from other sources and offer surprises. “We all like some variety in our diet,” Milcarek notes. Visitor surveys also help the staff put something different on the shelf.Every shipment is weighed regardless of the size of the load — and processed quickly. In September a donation by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived with 33,724 pounds of goods. “Twenty-four pallets,” says Radunzel. “We offloaded at a larger location loaned to us for the day and we moved everything over here in two hours. It did get tight.”People obtain food in one of three ways: a visit to WayForward (open Tuesday-Saturday), a delivery to their home, or through a mobile pantry. These happen once a month at two affordable housing complexes. Home deliveries average 83 every other week.At the pantry, a shopper has the choice of picking out fresh vegetables and fruit. Next are aisles of shelves holding dry goods such as boxed potatoes, rice and pasta. Large refrigeration units hold ground beef, chicken, eggs, milk and other dairy products.WayForward does not limit visits or how much someone may put in their tote with the exception of some limits, at times, on an individual item such as chicken thighs or eggs.In a few weeks the lines will be longer. WayForward will distribute Thanksgiving food packages to between 900 and 1,000 households. Turkey or chicken; cranberries and stuffing; mashed potatoes and corn and green beans (with onion strings or cream of mushroom soup, of course); and pies, probably apple. “Pumpkin was not a big hit last year,” Radunzel says.The biggest challenge going forward is “demand,” says Milcarek. “In the past year there were, on average, 152 visits a day. In late September we had 245 visitors one day. Visits to the pantry are up fourfold in four years. And we do not turn anyone away.”With the increase, space has become a real concern. “With limited space we can manage this increase for the time being,” but not permanently, says Milcarek.In fiscal year 2026, demand was met with cash donations and revenues from events and a large pledge to be realized over three years, totalling more than $5 million. This equals 55% of the value of what WayForward Resources calls “total support” — the other 45% are in-kind contributions of food.Leslie Huber, vice president of strategic engagement, says that demand is growing due in part to overall cost of living expenses, not just food. Rent is a major consideration. “Food insecurity is often the result of escalating rents. Families cut spending on food in order to avoid eviction,” she explains. To that end, WayForward also operates a housing assistance program aimed at keeping families in their homes. “That program accounted for a bit more than $1.3 million in spending in the last fiscal year.”Huber says support from the community is there. “Cutbacks in government funding have prompted people to help. We call it ‘rage giving.’ We continue to see great support from the community and believe we will continue to meet growing demand for our services.” This article is part of The Nonprofit Issue, the special November 2026 print edition of Isthmus. See the other stories here.</div></body>

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Maddie Kalscheuer, WayForward’s food and resource access manager, stocks the refrigerator case with dairy items. It is Saturday morning at WayForward Resources in Middleton. The building is nondescript, white, warehouselike. Eighty people. including children, are waiting in line until the door to the food pantry’s shopping area opens in 15 minutes.

WayForward Resources efficiently distributes in-demand goods

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Maddie Kalscheuer, WayForward’s food and resource access manager, stocks the refrigerator case with dairy items. It is Saturday morning at WayForward Resou

WayForward Resources efficiently distributes in-demand goods

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