How River Falls Community Food Pantry Serves Over 500 Families a Month

Written by The River Falls Journal, read the original post here

Since moving in 2019, the River Falls Community Pantry (RFCP) feeds nearly 550 families every month thanks to the distribution of around 30,000 pounds of food. 

Candice Anderson, executive director of RFCP, remembers a time when the pantry could only serve families and people in need within the River Falls School District. Since 2019, Anderson, her team of 40-50 regular volunteers and part-time employee service people throughout Saint Croix and Pierce counties — thanks to their location along St. Croix Street. 

As one of the largest food pantries in western Wisconsin, people visit RFCP twice monthly and shop produce and extra bread on a weekly basis. 

“People need to eat,” Anderson said. “[We] help people at the core.” 

Before her work with RFCP, Anderson worked at an Eau Claire animal shelter for eight years. Anderson recalled seeing people use their food to feed their animals or giving up their animals due to lack of resources. When Anderson saw a part-time position open for RFCP, she returned to her hometown of River Falls back in 2013 to take the job.

Eventually, she worked her way to a full-time position, one of the first full-time employees that RFCP hired, she said. 

What can people expect when they get food from RFCP? Once they walk in, people will check in then fill out a cold order form (eggs, meat, dairy) so volunteers can have that prepared once they check out. Then, people will take a grocery cart with four bags in it and shop the pantry aisles. The aisles are filled with canned goods, cereals, animal food, hygiene products, bread, produce and baby supplies. Once people are done shopping, they’ll place their goods on a scale and then they are free to take it home. 

“That’s it, super easy,” she said. 

Also, due to in-season produce and donations from local farmers and gardeners, RFCP hosts an outdoor market so people can access fresh produce. 

“The biggest misconception is that you’ll be judged,” she said. Whether people are employed or not, RFCP is “here to feed everyone.”