WayForward Resources

10/28/2026

Each month, WayForward distributes the equivalent of nearly 133,000 meals—more than at any other time in our history. Thank you to Hunger Action Month Weekly Sponsor Madison Gas and Electric for partnering with us to support greater food security for our neighbors.

10/28/2026

Let's hear it for our friends in Junior Girl Scout Troop 7756 and Brownie Troop 8511, who raised a fantastic total of 606 pounds of food for their neighbors and helped us stock shelves in the WayForward Distribution Center. Thank you for making change while earning your badges and helping create food security in our community!

10/27/2026

Wow! Our clothing center is packed to the rafters thanks to our community’s generosity. Unfortunately, space is very tight—and we’ve run out of storage space. To make room for the items we need most right now, we are encouraging community members to drop off ONLY:

❄️ Adult winter coats
❄️ Children's winter coats
❄️ Children’s winter clothing and gear (sweaters, long sleeved shirts, pants, hats, mittens, boots)

All items donated should be new or gently used with minimal wear (free of tears, holes, or stains; with working zippers).

The huge increase in demand for food we’ve experienced over the past couple of years has meant that we have to use space previously available to store clothing to now store and process food so that we can keep food on our pantry shelves for our neighbors who need it. We are giving out 3.5 times more food than we did just five years ago. Since April, demand at the food pantry has been increasing, and September was our busiest month in over a year. Our building space remains the same size it was five years ago, when we were giving out significantly less food, making it challenging to absorb the increase.

Please bring all other clothing items you would like to donate to St. Vincent De Paul, Goodwill Industries, or another location of your choice.

10/26/2026

Thank you to Meals Matter for their fantastic donation of $2,000 to our food pantry! We're so glad to work with local students who are dedicated to helping create food security in our community.

10/26/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out to shop Pantry Partners of Dane County mittens and dryer balls to benefit WayForward this weekend!

Good news: Pantry Partners raised $2,040 for WayForward Resources yesterday at the Bruce Company's Autumn Artisan Faire. Keep an eye on our website, www.pantrypartnersdane.com, for future events, where you can get fleece mittens, dryer balls, and wool mittens.

10/23/2026

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic abuse, also called intimate partner violence, is a leading risk factor for homelessness and housing instability among women, according to a 2022 study in the American Journal of Public Health. Lack of safe and affordable housing can often act as as a barrier to leaving unsafe relationships, and can create greater vulnerability among survivors.

If you or someone you know needs immediate support, call the Domestic Violence Intervention Services (DAIS) 24-hour line at (608) 251-4445 or the UNIDOS 24-hour line at (800) 510-9195.

Read how WayForward helped Madeline's* family feel safe and stabilized in their new beginnings: https://www.wayforwardresources.org/stories/helps-families-like-madelines-feel-safe-and-stabilized-in-their-new-beginnings/

*a representative name has been used and identifying details changed to protect client confidentiality

10/21/2026

It's never too early to jumpstart your holiday shopping! Find Pantry Partners of Dane County items this Saturday at The Bruce Company's Annual Artisan Faire, 11 am-4 pm at 2830 Parmenter St. Browse handmade, upcycled dryer balls and mittens. Every purchase supports food security and housing stability through donations to WayForward!

This Saturday, Pantry Partners of Dane County moves to Middleton! We will have mittens and dryer balls at the WayForward Resources booth at the Bruce Company's Annual Artisan Faire, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24. The Bruce Company is at 2830 Parmenter St. 100% of the proceeds go directly to WayForward Resources for their food pantry! New this year: mittens upcycled from fleece jackets, as shown in the photo.

10/20/2026

Thank you to our community for taking action against hunger!
This September for Hunger Action Month, we came together to raise food and awareness of food insecurity in our community. We’re thrilled to announce that WayForward’s Take Action Against Hunger Challenge raised an incredible 27,753 pounds of food for the pantry, surpassing our goal!

We accomplished this thanks to the collective generosity and efforts of many volunteers and community members, and over 20 local businesses, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, schools, municipal and neighborhood groups that ran food drives. Additional community donations of food during Hunger Action Month included 33,734 pounds of shelf-stable food delivered on the day of our Kickoff event by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 33,242 pounds from Certco Inc, among others.

Read more on our website about the incredible creativity and dedication this year's Hunger Action Month participants brought to the task of creating greater food security for our neighbors: https://www.wayforwardresources.org/stories/27000-lbs-hunger-action-month/

Special congratulations to our Hunger Action Month awardees, who really went above and beyond to take action against hunger:

🔸Can-Tastic Cross Plains – Most Creative Drive Award
🔸High Point Christian School – Youth in Action Award
🔸Middleton Community United Church of Christ– Most Neighbors Fed Award
🔸Middleton Meals Matter – Sustained Action Award
🔸Middleton Glen Retirement Community – Good Neighbor Award
🔸PUBG Studios Madison – Gamers for Good Award
🔸Spencer Real Estate Group – Best Video Award
🔸WEA Member Benefits – Competitive Spirit Award

10/15/2026

Thank you to the Green Bay Packers Foundation for their recent grant supporting eviction prevention. Packers Outreach and WayForward are working together to help our neighbors stay in their homes and create housing stability in our community.

10/13/2026

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from WayForward Resources! Yesterday, we channeled this year's celebratory theme of "Unidos, Somos Más" (Together, We Are More). We shared lots of joy: food, music, a round of lotería, and discussing the personal meaning of Latina identity among members of our team. Thank you to the staff who made this celebration possible!

¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana de parte de WayForward Resources! Ayer nos unimos al espíritu del lema de este año: "Unidos, Somos Más." Compartimos mucha alegría: comida, música, una partida de lotería y conversaciones sobre el significado personal de la identidad latina entre los miembros de nuestro equipo. ¡Gracias al personal que hizo posible esta celebración!