GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Food pantries in Green Bay, across Northeast Wisconsin, and around the country are seeing surging demand as millions of Americans – including nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites – face the possibility of losing their SNAP and FoodShare benefits.
For the past year and a half, Rooted In president and founder Selena Darrow has been hosting weekly outdoor pop-up food pantries to provide fresh, nutritious groceries to anyone in need. But since May, she’s noticed a dramatic increase.
“It’s absolutely disheartening, and it’s actually wrong,” Darrow said. “Food is a basic human right. It is not a privilege, and the fact that essentially our federal government is making decisions to support other countries and not the people of this country is absolutely appalling.”
Darrow says attendance has nearly doubled in recent months, with more families asking for help for the first time. While she’s grateful to serve the community, she worries about the long-term stability of local food pantries.
She hopes more resources can be invested into sustainable solutions to ensure nobody goes hungry. In addition to handing out food, Darrow also provides visitors with a list of other support services available in the region.
