For Immediate Release

Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: April 13, 2020

Southwest Tech team delivering food pantry items

Fennimore -

Even though the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College campus is closed, work continues to get food into the homes of students with a need. Rex Smith, Dining Services manager, is leading the effort of taking the Chargers Cupboard food pantry mobile.

Smith has been coordinating with a campus-wide team to identify the needs within Southwest Tech’s five-county district, sourcing the food, and scheduling the food packaging and delivering.

“Whatever people want, we can get,” said Smith. “We have plenty of resources available. So, we don’t want, by any stretch of the imagination, to limit what students are getting or how often they’re receiving it. We want to make sure our first priority is removing their food insecurities, to make sure that whatever they are doing is going to be able to help them achieve their academic success.”

Darnell Wiegman, grants manager, has been organizing student welfare calls. A team of faculty and staff members are in the process of calling each student. Each call includes asking each student if they need anything from the campus food pantry, as well as informing them of locations and contact information of food pantries in their local communities.

A team meets on campus each Friday to pack the pantry boxes for each family. Faculty and staff members then deliver those boxes throughout the district. “We’ve gone as far north as Lynxsville, and we’re also delivering pantry boxes into the Platteville area, so we’re covering a good portion of our district,” said Smith.

The pantry boxes include dry goods, freezer goods, dairy products, cooler items, and produce. They are packed according to the number of people in each family.

“I would like to personally thank you for helping my family and myself out at this time,” said an anonymous recipient. “I currently don’t have a vehicle, and live in the country and with transportation not running during the virus, you have been a lifesaver. Thanks again.”

Southwest Tech officials are continuing the partnership with Second Harvest food pantry for food, in addition to using Dining Services vendors and local grocery stores. They are also sourcing eggs and ground beef from Mark Winters in Boscobel, Wisconsin.

“This procedure, for sure, will go on until students have access back to the campus,” said Smith. “That’s going to be the minimum.”

If a student has not yet received a call, he or she can contact their advisor or any instructor to be placed on the list.

Anyone interested in donating financially, can click, https://www.swtc.edu/foundation/donate-today, and then select “Donate Now” and then “Charger Cupboard” in the dropdown designation.

| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |