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Brown County is seeing a rise in homelessness this winter and local food banks and churches say they're always in need of donations.

Some local businesses are doing their part of giving back by donating food they don't sell.

After working for a few businesses that throw out unsold food, Heather Conard is happy to be working for a coffee shop that gives back.

"It's different than anything I've ever been to," says Heather Conard, Luna Cafe Manager .

Luna in De Pere gives back to the community in a number of ways, like donating a portion of good dog coffee sales to the Bay Area Humane Society or giving unsold baked goods and coffee to the New Community Homeless Shelter.

"They get awesome bakery goods, because it's all made here from scratch everyday, so whatever's leftover they get," says Conard.

Conard freezes the baked goods, making sure they stay fresh until she has a chance to drop them off. The food local businesses are donating may be a day old, but that doesn't mean they belong in the trash.

"It's too good to throw away, so we want someone who will enjoy it," says Conard.

"I take the product home on a daily basis and I don't eat it all in one day, so I know it's good for a few days," says Adam Slota, Panera Bread Store Manager.

Adam Slota works at Panera Bread, a national company giving back locally. The company donates unsold bread and baked goods everyday to local churches and food banks as part of their Day-End Doughnation Program.

"There's a lot of people that can benefit from all of the stuff that's not utilized, so there's no sense in wasting it if somebody can benefit," Slota says.

Slota says It's disappointing to hear of companies throwing away unsold food, especially with how easy it is to give it away.

"All we do is package it up. I mean there's very little effort in our part," says Slota.

Both say they hope companies throwing items away change their practices.