The River Food Pantry – Dane County, WI

Our Mission

Food, resources and faith to build a stronger community

Our Vision

A fully nourished community

About Us
The River is South Central Wisconsin’s busiest food pantry. Services include free groceries for pickup or delivery, to-go meals, online grocery orders, mobile meals, and after-hours food lockers. The River also recovers food and resources—that would otherwise go to waste—from local retailers. Since 2006, The River has grown to serve over 4,000 people every week in pursuit of its vision: a fully nourished community.

Extreme Home Makeover: Food Pantry Edition

In the days since The River team moved into our new building, it sometimes feels like we’re living in the “after” picture of a HGTV home makeover show. The entire team, staff and volunteers are...

New Building Update: February 2026

The day we’ve been hoping, planning and dreaming about for so many years has finally come!  We have begun to operate in our new home at 3301 Packers Ave! I cannot begin to express how grateful I am...

New Building Update: January 2026

After months of anticipation, this is getting real! Right now, The River is temporarily closed while staff move our entire operation into our new home at 3301 Packers Ave. On Dec. 23, 2025, The...

2025 Impact

unique individuals

throughout Dane County served a total of

times