By Joe Mingle
Healthy Food For All

Despite all the pandemic craziness, Healthy Food For All (HFFA), the Northside Planning Council’s food recovery initiative, overcame many challenges and will distribute a record-smashing volume of surplus produce and prepared food in 2020. At our current rate, we expect to recover and distribute no less than 240,000 pounds of food this year, far exceeding even our glory days of managing Epic’s surplus in 2017.

By building strong community partnerships with farmers, food banks and other producers, we’ve been able to access more surplus food than even before the crisis. Distributors can’t sell to closed restaurants, many pantries and meal sites are closed, so the old system is disrupted. Most folks agree we can’t let surplus food go to waste, but getting it to those who can use it is always a challenge. As a small but nimble initiative, HFFA is up to the challenge and, like its host, FEED Kitchens, has proven its worth as a critical infrastructure piece in our local food system.

Drawing lessons from our past work, HFFA has adapted to the changed conditions and implemented new models for distributing surplus food to our target populations. Staging mobile pop-up pantries right on the street in low-income neighborhoods has connected us with many existing neighborhood networks that can distribute a lot of food. Direct-to-door deliveries to subscriber households is another key to our success and will be even more critical in the cold winter ahead.

We all know many Northside families were already struggling and the need is only growing. With more hard times coming, hardy volunteers are needed — veterans, students, newly unemployed workers — to help give away food that will otherwise end up in the landfill while neighbors go hungry. Do you have family, friends or neighbors who need extra food? Step up to the challenge and help feed your community.

For more information email feedcoordinator@northsidemadison.org or check out our Facebook page. Everyone is warmly invited to join in this growing effort.