Waupaca Food Pantry offers groceries to those with higher incomes
Beginning this month, the Waupaca Area Food Pantry is able to offer more Waupaca households the Grade-A foods provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The pantry is an authorized food distributor in the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and can now provide no-cost groceries for households that have incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
People who have lost jobs or income may obtain a monthly share of American-grown meat, vegetables, fruit, juice and more from a TEFAP food pantry.
Before June 1, TEFAP’s qualifying income threshold was 185% FPL.
Enrollment is confidential and simple.
The pantry is located at 800 Churchill St. and is open from 9-11 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
It will provide food on the day of application, and once each month as long as the household’s income qualifies them to participate.
Proof of address and identification are required; proof of income is not.
Households participating in other food programs, such as Food Share, WIC or school nutrition, may also participate in TEFAP without affecting their ability to qualify for those programs.
Wisconsin’s pantry volunteers are providing “no contact” food distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They are enrolling households and distributing groceries outdoors to minimize health risks.
In many locations, TEFAP applicants and participants remain in their cars for service.
In 2019, Wisconsin’s 265 charitable TEFAP pantries made more than 800,000 monthly food distributions to households in need of food.