“At my job as a medical assistant for seniors, I make enough money to pay the bills and then use FoodShare benefits to buy food. When that was cut off, this was the only place I could get food. It’s also really great that that they can help me with diapers.” –V., Single Mom and Client of The River
You’ve seen the rising prices at the grocery store. You know how quickly costs for housing, childcare, medical care, and basic necessities add up. For thousands of your neighbors, these increases mean a heartbreaking decision: pay the bills or buy food. Because of you, The River Food Pantry can be there when those choices become impossible.
Throughout 2025, more people than ever before have relied on The River for support. We served 19,317 people in just the first 10 months of the year. For comparison, we served 18,777 people in all of 2024!
On top of this already historic level of need, in early November, FoodShare funding lapsed due to the government shutdown. Overnight, even more people came to us to fill the gap. We had our busiest weeks of the entire year—right before the holidays when we always see the highest demand and serve over 2,000 households a week.
V, a single mom of three boys in Madison, is one of many community members who has found support at The River during times of crisis.
“I first went to The River Food Pantry because I was pregnant and medically advised to go on bed rest, which meant I couldn’t work. I had been expecting twins and miscarried one twin and was at risk of losing the other. I was already a mother to one son and had bills to pay. Between not working and those bills, I did not have money left for food,” shared V.
Once she was back on her feet, V no longer needed the pantry—until her FoodShare benefits were unexpectedly cut. She returned to The River, a place she knows gives hope, support and nutritious food for her family when life takes an unexpected turn. Today, you can make sure that every family in our community, including V’s family, has access to nutritious food, regardless of what happens to FoodShare or other assistance programs.
This is an urgent request for the increasing number of children, seniors, veterans, and low-income households experiencing food insecurity throughout Dane County. Your year-end gift to The River will provide nourishment and stability for our community, so that our struggling neighbors can focus on other critical needs without having to compromise on one of the most basic: food.
