"Charity must never look back, but always ahead, for the number of its past
benefits is always quite small, as the present and future miseries it should
alleviate are infinite." Frederick Ozanam St. Vincent de
Helping Our Neighbors in Need
Food Pantry:
St. Vincent de Paul operates the largest food pantry in Dane County
. We have changed to a client choice model and relocated to
2033 Fish Hatchery Rd. Nearly 22,000
households were served in 2009. We donated over $1,300,000 of
food last year.
People needing assistance with food are given 3 days of groceries.
Recipients are eligible for assistance once every 30 days. Identification
for themselves and all family members is required.
Acustomer-choice model of distribution
operates more like a grocery
store. This model – in which clients will have broader choice
among the food items we’re able to provide – will not only honor the dignity
and ethnic diversity of the people we serve, it will also minimize waste and
promote efficient distribution of our charitable resources.
People need food for
many reason. High fuel costs and expensive housing in Madison are
making it difficult for families to make ends meet. In most people's
budget, food dollars are the last dollars spent. If any other crisis
comes up they do not have enough to buy the food they need. Then, they
come to pantries such as ours for help.
Donations of canned and nonperishable food are always needed. The
pantry also has several freezers to store meat for donation. If you or
your organization is able to provide food please call the Service
Center Staff at (608) 257-0919.
We also need volunteers to to stock our pantry and host our customers.
If you are interested call 257-0919 x442 to speak with our Volunteer and Member
Development Coordinator, and ask to attend the next volunteer
information and orientation session.
The pantry hours are: Monday, Tuesday & Friday
10:30am-2:30pm;
Thursday 2:30pm-6:30pm; Saturday
9:30am-11:30. See map.
Food Pantry Featured on Front
Page of The New York Times Our "client choice" food pantry was featured on the front
page of the New York Times. Click
here to see.It
would be nice to think they searched the whole country for the best pantry to
report on but there was a little good fortune involved. However, we are
still proud that our efforts have now been reported to a wider audience and we
are getting calls from around the country inquiring about duplicating our model.
