United Way of Dane County

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Food pantries across Dane County are warning that the community is facing a rising number of people facing food insecurity, while supply at food pantries is dropping.

“The options we have to keep our shelves stocked continue to shift, and we’re more limited than we were just a few years ago,” said Mark Thompson, president of Sun Prairie Food Pantry. “Buying food in bulk is, of course, more expensive now, and our traditional suppliers of free food can’t keep up with the demand.”

The demand for food pantries is increasing in line with rising costs across the board advocates said during a rally at the state Capitol. Rising housing prices in Dane County are leaving more people with fewer resources to spend on food.

“We are seeing record numbers of families using the pantry 2023 was an all time record for us,” Thompson said. “We’re probably going to break that record halfway through this year. We’re probably going to almost double what we did in 2023.”

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