The Brief
About a dozen food pantries in southeastern Wisconsin lost supplies or sustained damage in the flooding.
Feeding America reports a 30% increase in demand from this time last year.
Residents are urged to donate, volunteer, or request replacement benefits if they lost food.
MILWAUKEE - The recent flooding in southeastern Wisconsin has left several food pantries struggling to recover, with some losing all their supplies due to water damage and power outages.
What we know
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin said about a dozen of the 159 pantries in its network were impacted by the storms. Some also sustained structural damage.
The need is already high; the organization reports a 30% increase in demand compared with this time last year. Pantries are expecting an influx of people impacted by the flooding.
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Feeding America is urging community members to reach out to their local pantries, noting that donations and volunteers are always needed.
What they're saying
"Everyone should know that your local neighborhood pantry likely needs help," said Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement Matt Stienstra. "If the local food pantry in your neighborhood is in itself submerged or facing its own structural problems due to the flooding, they are likely faced with a ton of families that are coming because they lost food."
Dig deeper
Families receiving FoodShare benefits who lost food due to the storms can also request replacement benefits.
The Source
The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
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