Everyone needs the basics — food, shelter, clothing, heat. Across Douglas County, programs that provide the basics are seeing an increase in clients. The need for food alone has jumped dramatically.

The Salvation Army in Superior served 60 individuals or families per week through its food shelf in January 2008. Last month, the number grew to 100 per week.

Use is climbing at the Northwest Wisconsin Community Services Agency (NWCSA) food pantry, too. In 2008, the agency provided food to 50 percent more clients than in 2007 — from 2,492 to 3,837. Millie Rounsville, chief executive officer for NWCSA, expects the numbers to keep rising.

“More and more people are having economic issues; more and more people are losing jobs,” she said.

“We used to get 15-20 people” every Tuesday, said Linda Pittman, food pantry coordinator for Faith United Methodist Church. “Now I’m seeing 25-30 people.”

In December, 17 new clients came to the church for food, and another 15 came in January. Numbers have almost doubled since last year, Pittman said.

“That’s a lot of need,” she said.

The Rural Care and Share Food Shelf, which has sites in Poplar and Iron River, has seen an increase in clients since October. The program serves about 50 families in Iron River each month and up to 80 families in Poplar. Although the numbers are up, said spokeswoman Ann Pellman of Maple, they are manageable.

“We’re blessed with local community organizations who give donations,” she said, especially Lions clubs. Area schools hold annual food drives and 13 churches provide volunteers to run the food shelves once a month.

Community meals

Free meals are offered weekly at a number of sites. A soup kitchen at the Solid Rock Safe Haven, 1004 N. Sixth St., provides meals at noon and 5 p.m. every day except Sunday.

“We feed whoever’s there,” Rounsville said.

In 2007, Solid Rock served 14,560 meals; that rose to 18,940 in 2008.

The Salvation Army, 916 Hughitt Ave., serves meals at noon Sunday and 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Three Superior churches provide community meals at 4 p.m. every Sunday. On the first, second and fifth Sunday of the month, Faith United Methodist Church, 1531 Hughitt Ave. host the meal. United Presbyterian Church, 229 N. 28th St., hosts the meal the third Sunday of the month and First Evangelical Covenant Church, 3311 Hammond Ave., offers a meal the fourth Sunday. All are welcome and registration is not required.

WIC

Another food source available to pregnant women and families with children younger than 5 is the Women Infant and Children (WIC) program in Hawkes Hall, 2231 Catlin Ave.

The program’s three main purposes are nutrition education, providing vouchers for food and referring clients to other resources in the community. A family with two children under the age of 5 could save up to $100 each month by using the vouchers, said Mary Mahan, WIC director and a registered dietitian.

The 35-year-old program has proven its worth.

“For every dollar spent on WIC, there is a $13 savings in neonatal care costs,” Mahan said. “WIC works.”

Vouchers provide milk, cheese, eggs, cereal and juice for growing bodies. In August, the WIC package will change to include fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables and offer options such as whole-grain breads.

There is an income eligibility requirement, Mahan said, but the number of families the program can handle is not limited. Although program numbers have risen — 1,120 families a month last year to over 1,200 in the past two months — it isn’t full.

“There are more people out there who are eligible who are not using the program,” Mahan said, including families where the parents work.

Education

The need for food is basic and growing, those who work at area food shelves say. Education is also a key component.

Information on how to stretch your food dollar and how to use food that comes in food shelf packages is available through the University of Wisconsin-Extension office. The Wisconsin Nutrition Education program is available to low-income families in Douglas County.

Educators from UW-Extension also stop by NWCSA twice a month to prepare a meal out of food pantry items and provide recipes.

“Dried beans, for instance,” Rounsville said. “A lot of the younger generation don’t know how to use them.”

Educators offer tips for cooking a chicken, budgeting for groceries, using canned salmon to make chowder or making Jell-O with grapefruit juice.

A hunger summit is planned June 3 to shine a light on area need, address the four legs of hunger — nutrition programs, emergency food assistance, family economic security and accessing affordable and healthy food — and provide hope.

“If you are in need, these are the options — how you can help yourself,” Rounsville said.

For more information on the hunger summit or nutrition education, contact Grace Gee at 395-1363 or Rounsville at 392-5127.