News
WAUSHARA COUNTY FOOD PANTRY'S FIRST ANNUAL GOLF OUTING
07/09/26 We are excited to host the Waushara County Food Pantry’s First Annual Golf Outing and grateful for the opportunity to bring our community together in support of neighbors facing food insecurity.
Many people wonder who we serve at the Waushara County Food Pantry. We assist individuals and families throughout Waushara County who are experiencing poverty, as well as those with incomes up to 150–185% of the federal poverty level. The faces of our patrons vary greatly. Food insecurity affects people in every part of our community — the people you work beside, children in our schools, seniors in local centers, and veterans who have served our country. Many families are only one or two paychecks away from needing support.
At the Waushara County Food Pantry, we believe access to nourishing food is a basic human right and that assistance should always be provided with dignity, compassion, and respect.
On average, we support approximately 455 households each month, representing nearly 1,141 individuals. In 2025 alone, we distributed more than 500,000 pounds of food to those in need. In addition to our regular food distribution services, we provide emergency food assistance in partnership with local law enforcement and the Waushara County Department of Human Services, ensuring immediate support for residents facing crisis situations.
During 2025, we experienced a significant increase in pantry participation. Unfortunately, this growth came at a time when food pantries across the country were seeing declines in available funding and resources. Community support is now more important than ever.
We hope you will consider supporting our inaugural golf outing. We would love to have you join us on the course. If you are unable to attend, there are still many meaningful ways to help, including:
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact the food pantry at 920-787-0641.
Your generosity will directly support local individuals and families in need throughout Waushara County.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Sincerely,
Tyler Weston
Executive Director
THE SEASON FOR GROWING
05/15/26 Happy Spring! The trees are budding and so are the new activities happening here at Waushara County Food Pantry. We’ve got several exciting things in the works this spring and the first we’d like to share with you is our new garden space. With the generous support of Adam’s Columbia’s Operation Round Up program and expert help and advice from The Waushara Gardeners we’re installing 26 new garden beds outside of the pantry. Ten of these beds are being dedicated as a community garden space for our neighbors here on Oakridge Ct. and the other 16 will be dedicated to growing fresh produce for our pantry users. We’re so grateful to have the opportunity to install a space like this to not only increase the availability of fresh produce for our community, but also to create more opportunities for community involvement in the Waushara County Food Pantry mission. Please feel free to reach out if you’d like to be involved in the installation project this May 23rd at the pantry!
Second up on the docket is the launch of a Mobile Food Pantry effort in Coloma. We’re partnering with the Coloma Lions Club with support from The Oshkosh Area Community Foundation to extend our reach and bring pantry services to Coloma on the 4th Thursday of every month. New and current pantry users will be able to receive food distribution at the Coloma Fire Station starting on June 25th from 1pm until 4pm. We've been exploring options to launch a mobile food pantry for some time and the timely support of the Coloma Lions Club is instrumental in helping us to reach more of our community.
Last but certainly not least – We’d like to thank everyone for their continued patience as we run user surveys this month. We realize this slows down service during pantry distribution but want you all to know we genuinely appreciate the wonderful feedback we’ve been receiving as we take the time to assess our services and gather information to inform how we are working to improve our performance and accessibility moving forward.
2025 Wrap Up
02/05/2026 We’d like to thank you all for supporting the Waushara County Food Pantry in 2025. We had a tremendous year stacked with growth and change, none of which would have been achieved without the generosity of our community.
In 2025 we worked hard to improve our operational efficiency, reducing costs and making sure that our resources were focused at the heart of our mission, providing food to our neighbors experiencing hardship. We formed new partnerships with agricultural organizations, initiated new programs to increase the availability of fresh produce to our patrons and distributed more than 500,000 pounds of food to our community. We assisted an average of 455 households each month, totaling 1,227 households and 3,120 individuals over the course of the year.
Through individuals and our amazing community organizations we received just over 82,000 pounds of donated food. This includes shelf stable food items, an incredible 5,000 pounds of fresh produce given by local gardeners through our “Plant a Row” initiative, and 14,000 pounds of produce received from UW Hancock Research Station and the Food + Farm Exploration Center in Plover.
We’ve seen a steady increase in the number of families and individuals visiting the pantry for assistance, at the same time food available through the charitable food system has steadily decreased. This means donor support is more important than ever.
On behalf of our volunteers, Board of Directors, and the families we serve; thank you for your compassion and steadfast support. Every dollar received and pound donated has a direct impact on the fight against food insecurity in Waushara County. Your support fuels our mission every day!
STEEPED IN GRATITUDE
12/08/25 First and foremost - Thank you. We have been absolutely blown away by the support we have received from our community this year. Our work would not be possible without all of the people and organizations in Waushara County that have repeatedly stepped up to make sure that none of our neighbors are forced to go without food on their table in times of hardship. We'd like to take this opportunity to send a special shout out to some of our wonderful supporters.
-The Waushara County Tavern League made an immense gift of $16,000 dollars this year to cover the costs of supplying Hams and Turkeys to all of the folks who rely on the pantry for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas. They have truly gone above and beyond to make sure this holiday season is bright.
-Hancock Research Station has donated an incredible 11,420 pounds of
potatoes and other fresh produce.
-We had a tremendous show of support in the form of food donations
from local businesses and community groups in November totalling over
8,000 pounds. That includes more than 2,000 pounds brought in by
Parkview School and more than 1,000 pounds from Silver Leaf
Investments and nearly 500 pounds from the Waushara Democrats.
We are so grateful to everyone in Waushara County who has sent their
support our way, every dollar and pound of food makes a direct impact
in the fight against food insecurity and makes us so proud to be a
part of this beautiful community.
Thanks so much for all that you do!
Tyler
new assistant director
11/10/25 Thanks to funding provided by the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, the Waushara County Food Pantry is adding staff to help manage growing needs.
The pantry’s part-time Assistant Director, Tiffany Malin, joined Executive Director Tyler Weston and more than forty dedicated volunteers on October 1, 2025.
“Tiffany’s work experiences, enthusiasm and commitment to helping others makes her a perfect fit for our organization”, said Executive Director Tyler Weston. “With Tiffany on board, I am able to be more active in the community, as we work to reach additional community members and expand partnerships with businesses, producers, civic groups and others interested in food security. I look forward to sharing our story with organizations and groups throughout Waushara County.”
Plant a Row update
08/12/25 - While harvest season is just getting underway, Plant a Row is in full swing! To date we've received more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce from local gardeners and agriculture organizations. This includes 900 pounds from the Food and Farm Exploration Center, nearly 400 pounds from The Hancock Agricultural Research Station, and more than 700 pounds of produce brought in by home gardeners right here in Waushara County. Not to mention another 140 pounds grown in just four small beds outside of the pantry by the Waushara Gardeners club.
We are so proud to be a part of this wonderful community. Hardship can happen to any one of us and seeing Waushara County rally to make sure their friends and neighbors have access to fresh and healthy foods in times of struggle is truly a wonder and privilege to witness each week.
As always - Thank you so much for your support!
Plant a Row
06/05/25 - The Waushara Gardeners have collaborated with the pantry to install a garden at the pantry. This garden will help to provide fresh produce to our patrons as a part of our ‘Plant a Row’ initiative. Come and see what’s growing during your next visit to the pantry and don’t forget to plant an extra row in your home garden to help us fight food insecurity in Waushara County!
Welcome new executive director
05/07/25 -The Waushara County Food Pantry, Inc. is pleased to welcome Tyler Weston as their new Executive Director. After a total of four years, two as Executive Director, Nate Knight has made the decision to retire. Knight made major improvements to the pantry in his tenure, spearheading a large renovation project to improve functionality of the pantry’s primary operating space and streamlining pantry operations to reduce waste and focus resources on the pantry mission.
