Westby Creamery Supports Fight Against Food Insecurity

Feb 05, 2021 (Westby, WI)

In 2020, Westby Cooperative Creamery donated 61,681 pounds of food to WAFER Food Pantry of La Crosse as part of its ongoing mission to support the community’s economic, social and environmental life.

WAFER Mobile Pantry

The need for assistance was challenging and in constant flux compared to previous years, according to WAFER Food Pantry’s Executive Director Erin Waldhart. “Families were faced with lost wages and seeking help for the first time; parents were in need of extra food help with their children at home full time, and there was an added need to create mobile pantry sites to get food to people who couldn’t get to WAFER,” she said.

The response to support such families was just as great, and WAFER successfully implemented a curbside registration and grocery pickup to help individuals feel safer when receiving food assistance.

Westby Creamery is proud of its ongoing partnership with WAFER as it helps meet the community’s hunger-related needs and continues the Creamery’s mission of supporting the community.

“The partnership with WAFER tackles something very important to the Creamery’s employees and farmer-owners, which is the ability for all people in our community to have access to the nutritious foods we make,” Emily Bialkowski, Creamery sales, and marketing manager, said.

WAFER addresses hunger-related needs in La Crosse County while treating each person with personalized service and dignity. This includes obtaining food, developing resources, and partnering with other programs, organizations, and businesses to alleviate hunger and food insecurities in the area. To learn more about WAFER Food Pantry visit www.waferlacrosse.org.