Mission Statement: The role of the Community Awareness Education Team is to inform and educate the community on poverty/hunger issues in Portage County and the activities of the Hunger Prevention Partnership.

Strategies include:
a. Sharing information with the media.
b. Maintaining a speakers bureau on hunger poverty issues.
c. Providing informational material and displays.
d. Promoting the Plant a Row Project.

Current Activities:

Working on Annual Report and E-news for public.

Hunger Indicator Reports were sent to the local papers by Shannon Williams and a report was sent to Patty Drier, County Exec who asks to be kept updated.

Scholarship Winners and article was sent by Mary Ann to local papers.

Contacted by Master Gardeners for an updated list of agencies accepting food.

Future Actions:

Committee to compile a list of food agencies for referral to the web site and available for presentations and request.

Contact in early summer about providing a presentations on Badgercare and Health Care Reform. George Hagenauer from UW “Covering Kids and Families” program is available. Committee is willing to set up and promote if Partnership is agreeable and if we are still able to set it up for this fall.

Previous Activities:

Waushara Connections have been collaborating with the Education Awareness Team.  Several have indicated they would go on line and sign up for our HPPP newsletters.  They are just beginning a Hunger Team and are appreciative of where we have come from and our future plans.  Further actions will be shared with them as they continue their project.

The display board is available for presentations by request and may be arranged by contacting Mary Ann Baird at mbaird@uwsp.edu.

The Education and Awareness Team continues to educate the press on quarterly indicators when available.  The most recent indicators indicate a rise in the number of clients in need for direct food assistance or emergency help.


Plant A Row Program:
Plant a Row for the Hungry encourages people to share their extra garden produce with area food agencies.  Local gardeners throughout Portage County donated more than 9,000 pounds of produce through the Plant a Row for the Hungry program during the 2009 growing season.  Individual gardeners shared almost 8,000 pounds from their personal gardens while the Giving Gardens and other organizations contributed the rest.  Food receiving agencies include: Family Crisis Center, Interfaith Food Pantry, Lincoln Center, Operation Bootstrap, St Vincent DePaul, Salvation Army and the 4-H Youth Gardens.

There is still a need for tools and someone to rototill gardes in the spring.

Want to donate some produce from your garden?
Firm, clean fruits and durable vegetables can be donated to the follow agencies:

• Family Crisis Center 1616 W. River Dr .
• Lincoln Center 1519 Water St.
• Operation Bootstrap 5000 Heffron
• Salvation Army 1600 Briggs
• Interfaith Food Pantry 2nd & 4th Tuesdays (Call 341-5655 to donate)
• St. Vincent DePaul 2700 Post Rd, Plover

Please...Plant a Row for the Hungry