Staff members from the Community Foundation went from grant-makers to front-line volunteers for part of the morning today, helping to sort and repackage donations from a retail chain to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

This particular task involved non-food items — household goods, personal care items and toys — to be distributed along with the food going to people in need in our area.

These non-food items “fly off the shelf,” Jason Henderson,  northeast Wisconsin regional manager, said. “It makes sense, if the end-clients we are all serving are in need of food, most likely other basic necessities like hygiene products and soap are also needed. We put these out on our shopping floor so members who are here to pick up their food ordered online can shop for non-food items right on our floor while our warehouse team loads their completed order in their truck or van. Our members really give us great feedback receiving items like shampoo, feminine hygiene products and toilet paper.”

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the state’s leading hunger-relief agency, distributing 24 million pounds of nutritious food annually to its 550 member food pantries, meal programs and shelters. Together with its members, Feeding America provides the equivalent of more than 20 million meals a year to nearly 400,000 people, including 124,000 children and 41,000 seniors.