Access to USDA food available to more people through The Sharing Center

Access to food for those in need has been expanded, thanks to changes made by the US Department of Agriculture, The Sharing Center announced Friday.

“As a pantry director … this fills a huge gap we are currently seeing which is families who do not qualify for FoodShare, but still aren’t making enough to make ends meet,” said Sharon Pomaville, executive director of The Sharing Center.

Here are the details from The Sharing Center news release:

Beginning this month, the Sharing Center is able to offer more Kenosha County households the Grade-A foods provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Sharing Center is an authorized food distributor in the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and can now provide no-cost groceries for households that have incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level. People who have lost jobs or income may obtain a monthly share of American-grown meat, vegetables, fruit, juice, and more from a TEFAP food pantry. Before June 1, 2020, TEFAP’s qualifying income threshold was 185% FPL.

Enrollment is confidential and simple. The Sharing Center pantry is located at 25700 Wilmot Road, Trevor and is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Pantry will provide food on the day of application, and once each month as long as the household’s income qualifies them to participate. Proof of address and identification are required; proof of income is not.

Household participating in other food programs (such as Food Share, WIC or school nutrition) may also participate in TEFAP without affecting their ability to qualify for those programs.

Wisconsin’s pantry volunteers are providing “no contact” food distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are enrolling households and distributing groceries outdoors to minimize health risks. In many
locations, TEFAP applicants and participants remain in their cars for service.

In 2019, Wisconsin’s 265 charitable TEFAP pantries made more than 800,000 monthly food distributions to households in need of food.

The Sharing Center is also a partner of the Wisconsin Dairy Recovery Program and USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which support local farmers and food producers during the COVID pandemic. These
programs supply fresh milk, cheese, butter, fruit, vegetables, and meat daily to Western Kenosha County residents through the Sharing Center.

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