Food Insecurity in Dane County

Key Updates – October 9, 2025

It has been over a year since emergency food partners in Dane County raised the alarm about the rapid levels of increase in demand for food since the pandemic. Unfortunately, demand remains elevated. According to the recent report by Public Health Madison and Dane County:

Among the six largest food pantries in the county, family visits have increased on average by 112% from 2021 to 2023. Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin reported that from June 2022 to July 2023, 22.9 million pounds of food was distributed. This is the highest yearly distribution ever across its service area.

And anecdotally, partners report that these trends have continued. This is due to the reduction in federal support funds that were made available in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the economic inflation that has raised the cost of food for everyone. Not only does inflation impact consumers, it also impacts charitable feeding organizations, as cash donations do not go as far and when times are tough, the general public may also paradoxically donate fewer goods themselves, as they are worried about uncertainty in their own homes.

In some ways, access to food in Dane County is a strength of our community. We have an abundance of agencies who define their mission as increasing access to food for everyone in Dane County. This includes our emergency food partners like food banks, pantries, and meal sites. It also includes our partners in the administration of nutrition programs like school meals, home-delivered meals for seniors and others, and other agencies and nonprofits in this space. Certainly, there is no shortage of individuals or groups who are passionate about this issue and want to see people impacted by food insecurity supported.

However, in other ways, our access to food remains a challenge. The inefficiencies we observe in other sectors become magnified when working with people on limited incomes and for whom challenges will present first and worst. When looking at who will be most impacted by uncertain economic conditions, people who are already struggling with financial security are among the most vulnerable. Because food insecurity is heavily driven by economic conditions far beyond the scope of Dane County, the response can at times feel very reactive and demands constant vigilance to meet the ever-shifting conditions around us.

Here, we hope this food plan affords agencies an opportunity to step back and think about the bigger picture, the ways that their work connects and intersects with other sectors and even others in the food access space who they may not partner with regularly. Through this level of strategy and collective impact, hopefully new opportunities to support our community can emerge.