Hunger on Our Doorstep: A Study Action Guide for Wisconsin Congregations
This resource from the Wisconsin Council of Churches aims to help congregations learn about – and respond to – hunger in their communities. Basic questions about hunger provide the starting point for the curriculum: Who is hungry in Wisconsin? What are the impacts of hunger? What can be done about hunger? What does the Bible say about hunger? Answering these questions is just the beginning. This curriculum is called a study-action guide because it aims to lead congregations to take concrete steps to help their hungry neighbors, in partnership with others in their community.
- Download and view or print a 60 page PDF file of Hunger on Our Doorstep: A Study-Action Guide for Wisconsin Congregations.
- Hunger posters and ads are also available for download in PDF format.
- Facilitator Training Workshops: Our staff is available to come to your community for a facilitator training workshop if there are five or more congregations who wish to be trained. Please call or email Peter Bakken if you are interested.
Anti-Hunger Organizations
Wisconsin
Hunger Prevention Coalitions (variously called “hunger task forces”, “food resource networks”, “hunger prevention councils” and the like) exist in growing numbers around the state. This site provides access to an interactive database of local hunger coalitions in Wisconsin. Use the search or browse features to find out what others are doing to reduce hunger.
Hunger Task Force 201 S. Hawley Court, Milwaukee, WI 53214, Phone: 414/777-0483
Operates as both a food bank and an advocacy organization to combat hunger in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Community Action Program Association 1310 Mendota Street, Suite 107, Madison, WI 53714, 608/244-0745
The Wisconsin Community Action Program Association is a professional organization of Community Action Agencies (CAAs), which are independent, community-based, non-profit corporations or commissions. CAAs throughout the state are involved in numerous activities related to food security.
National
The nation’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a network of more than 200 Member food banks and food-rescue organizations.
Bread for the World (BFW)
BFW members are organized by congressional district into local networks nationwide to write, call and visit members of Congress, and generate media attention about national legislation and other efforts that address hunger.
Catholic Campaign for Human Development
The domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops which addresses the root causes of poverty in America through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
MAZON allocates donations from the Jewish community to prevent and alleviate hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds.
A national nonprofit that organizes individuals and businesses to share their strengths raises funds in innovative ways to help end hunger.
Educational Resources
Hunger and Poverty Simulations
An interactive online exercise by the San Francisco Food Bank where the player takes on the role of a hungry person looking for food.
An interactive multimedia curriculum that raises awareness of the root causes of poverty and homelessness as the first step in establishing community-based responses.
Poverty Simulation – University of Wisconsin Extension
An educational experience designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month
A four-minute video by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development presenting the difficulties of budgeting for a family at the poverty line.
Hunger Curricula for Young People
Offers Hunger 101 and the Community Food Game which can be downloaded and used free of charge, for a variety of age groups.
Hunger and Poverty Information
Wisconsin
NEW: Wisconsin Counties Poverty & Food Insecurity Profiles
This series of reports on poverty and food security summarize recent trends in poverty and food security for each county with comparisons to the state, and include a discussion of implications for policy and programs.
NEW: Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center
Access hundreds of measures of child well-being, by state or nationally and across states, and create your own maps, graphs and rankings.
University of Wisconsin Extension-County Offices
Extension offices and their staff, including Family Living Educators and Nutrition Coordinators, are an excellent source of local resources and information on hunger and poverty issues. Additional resources on the Extension website include:
- UW-Extension Family Living Programs 637 Extension Building, 432 Lake St., Madison, WI 53706, 608/263-1095. Research-based education and partnerships that support Wisconsin families and communities. Topic areas include Food and Nutrition, Family Economics, and Families and Communities.
- Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program - WNEP is a UW-Extension nutrition education program that helps limited resource families and individuals choose healthful diets, purchase and prepare healthful food and handle it safely, and become more food secure by spending their food dollars wisely.
National
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Food Assistance
Reports and analyses of food assistance programs and policy developments.
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
A nonprofit and nonpartisan research and public policy center that serves as the hub of an anti-hunger network of thousands of individuals and agencies across the country.
State and Federal Assistance Programs
An on-line tool to help Wisconsin families see if they might qualify for FoodShare benefits, Medicaid, BadgerCare, SeniorCare, and other health and nutrition programs by answering a few simple questions about their household’s income and bills.
United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service
Information and resources on food stamps, school meals, summer food service and other food and nutrition programs.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services Hunger/Nutrition Programs
Information on FoodShare (Wisconsin’s Food Stamp Program), Elderly Nutrition Program, Emergency Food Assistance and other programs.
Community Food Security Assessment
Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit
The United States Department of Agriculture’s extensive and detailed guide for collecting and analyzing information to evaluate a community’s food security.
County-by-County Data
Cooperative Extension Family Living Programs
- Affordable Housing http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/housing/index.cfm
Statistics on the cost of renting or owning a home.
- Hunger Close to Home http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/hunger/index.cfm
Includes the population in poverty, Food Stamp participation, and self-sufficiency wage information.
- Making Ends Meet http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/endsmeet/index.cfm
Profiles poverty in the county, with poverty rate, median earnings, housing affordability, and unemployment rate.
Food Security Profiles
Food security indicators for each county, including economic and demographic indicators, availability and participation in federal nutrition assistance programs, and information on food production and marketing.
- One-page standard profile: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/cfs/standard.cfm
- Customized report: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/cfs/index2.cfm
Workforce Profiles
The County Workforce Profiles, created by the labor market analysis and economists in DWD’s Office of Economic Advisors, provides snapshots of the labor market in every Wisconsin county.
Public Policy
Advocacy Resources
Visit the WCC’s Advocacy Page to find information on legislators and legislation and other advocacy resources.
Organizations
Bread for the World (BFW) www.bread.org
BFW members are organized by congressional district into local networks nationwide to write, call and visit members of Congress, and generate media attention about national legislation and other efforts that address hunger.
Hunger Task Force http://www.hungertaskforce.org/ 201 S. Hawley Court, Milwaukee, WI 53214, Phone: 414/777-0483
Operates as both a food bank and an advocacy organization to combat hunger in Wisconsin.
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) www.frac.org
A nonprofit and nonpartisan research and public policy center that serves as the hub of an anti-hunger network of thousands of individuals and agencies across the country.
Activities and Events
Crop Walks http://www.churchworldservice.org/CROP/index.html
Community-based fund raising events to raise money for local hunger-fighting agencies as well as the international relief and development efforts of Church World Service.
Hunger Action Month http://hungeractionmonth.org/
A multi-faceted effort to mobilize the public to end hunger in the United States, sponsored by Feeding America and held in September.
