Pop-up event slated for July 16
The Waupaca Area Food Pantry service’s area boundary has expanded into the northwest portion of Waupaca County.
It is now also serving families with an Iola-Scandinavia School District address.
The approval allowed it to begin doing so on July 1.
Prior to that, the pantry just served families in the Waupaca School District.
It has served Waupaca for 34 years.
The pantry provides an approximately two-week supply of no-cost groceries once per month for families.
Households that have incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL) are eligible.
People who have lost jobs or income may obtain a monthly share of American-grown meat, vegetables, fruit, juice and more from an Emergency Food Assistance Pantry (TEFAP).
Before June 1, TEFAP’s qualifying income threshold was 185% FPL.
Those seeking assistance need to bring to the pantry a current photo identification and piece of mail that includes their name and address.
They should also have a list of the birth dates of everyone in their household.
The pantry takes into account the number of people in each household and gives them the appropriate amount of food.
While proof of address and identification are required, proof of income is not.
The pantry’s current hours are 9-11 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
It is located at 800 Churchill St., in Waupaca.
The pantry is using appropriate safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who visit the pantry are asked to stay in their vehicles.
They are given a number and wait until a volunteer shows their number.
The volunteer walks to the vehicle to get needed information, returns to the pantry to get the pre-bagged food and perishables based on the number in the household and delivers it to the vehicle.
Volunteers help those who new to the pantry with the registration process.
Pop-up event
The pantry will hold a pop-up distribution from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, July 16.
Volunteers will only pack 100 bags, so the distribution could end earlier.
The pantry will hand out pre-packed bags of frozen meats and non-perishable barbecue or picnic items like ketchup, mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, baked beans, chips and salsa.
This distribution will be free to anyone who needs help, with no paperwork required.
Those who visit the drive-thru distribution should enter from Columbia Street.
They will then turn into the parking lot and proceed in front of H.H. Hinder Brewing Company and then to the pantry next door, where volunteers will hand a bag of food to them.
There will be one per household, with no picking up food for multiple households.
If people carpool, they will need to prove they are from separate households by showing separate mailing addresses.
People will exit onto Churchill Street.