Madison, WI, July 15, 2025 – Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin recently launched a new resource for hunger-related data in southwestern Wisconsin. The resource can be found at SecondHarvestSW.org/HungerInfo.
According to the data:
- The number of people considered food insecure in Second Harvest’s 16-county service area rose by 13%.
- Nearly 147,000 people, including almost 40,000 children, face hunger in southwestern Wisconsin.
- 1 in 9 people of all ages in southwestern Wisconsin are considered food insecure
- 1 in 7 children under 18 in southwestern Wisconsin are considered food insecure
- The average family of four considered food insecure in southwestern Wisconsin has a food budget shortfall of nearly $2,800 per year.
- Hunger disproportionally affects communities of color in southwestern Wisconsin:
- 1 in 3 people in the Black community are food insecure
- 1 in 4 people in the Hispanic community are food insecure
- 1 in 11 people in the White community are food insecure
“It’s critical that community members understand how widespread the need is throughout southwestern Wisconsin,” said Michelle Orge, Second Harvest’s President and Executive Director. “This new resource for sharing food insecurity data will be a valuable tool for us to use as we work to make sure everyone in our community has access to enough nutritious food to thrive.”
In addition to the combined data for the 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties supported by Second Harvest, individual county-level data is available for the following counties: Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, LaFayette, Monroe, Richland, Rock, Sauk, and Vernon.
Finally, the new resource identifies the amount of food Second Harvest and its network of food and resource providers infuse into each county to support the goal of nutrition security and food equity for everyone in southwestern Wisconsin. For more information, visit SecondHarvestSW.org/HungerInfo.
About Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin
Since 1986, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin has been working with local hunger-relief agencies in 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties. Through food distribution, promotion of outside food assistance programs, partnerships with healthcare providers and insurers, and raising awareness of hunger, we are making our vision of everyone in our community having enough nutritious food to thrive a reality. We are the largest hunger relief organization in southwestern Wisconsin, providing tens of millions of meals each year to those who need them. Every day, we prove that lives can be changed with food! For more information, visit SecondHarvestSW.org.
