Two organizations with one mission, to feed families across the Badger State

ANTIGO, Wis. (WSAW) – Living in the rural areas of Wisconsin can have its pleasures, but it also brings challenges, and one of the toughest is proper nutrition.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 97% of Wisconsin is considered to be rural, meaning thousands of children are under-served in terms of healthy, fresh food. Children in Wisconsin are 52% more likely to be food insecure than any aged adult.

To help raise awareness, Gov. Tony Evers declared next week as ‘Feed our Rural Kids Week’ in Wisconsin.

Across Wisconsin, kids are facing hunger. “Rural areas are especially at risk,” said Perry Pokrandt, president, Feed Our Rural Kids Inc. FORK is a non-profit organization that provides nutritional support to children in Northland Pines, Three Lakes, and Phelps School Districts.

Living in the Northwoods has its challenges, including higher food costs and unemployment.

“We live in a very tough economic area because everything is so seasonal here, its very hard for families to budget in that way,” said Pokrandt. It’s a lot of work for one organization, but luckily they’re not alone.

“The Antigo Community Food Pantry holds a distribution twice weekly on Wednesday and Friday. Our clients are able to come bi-weekly, so they come twice a month to help supplement their need for nutrition and food,” said Rachael Bolen, director, Antigo Community Food Pantry.

Two separate groups, with one mission; to feed families across the Badger state. Bolen said they are all trying to get the best nutritious, best quality food possible for their clients and address the fact that people are struggling right now.

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