New Coordinator for Hunger Prevention Council of Pierce County

A message from our Board of Directors on June 11, 2020
The Hunger Prevention Council of Pierce County, Inc. is pleased to announce Laurel Stinson has joined the organization as Council Coordinator.
Laurel Stinson grew up in Lake City, MN and returned to Red Wing where she has been a resident for the last 8 years. She is a member of the Red Wing City Council and graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is excited to use her many years of experience working for non-profit organizations to further the mission of hunger prevention. Laurel’s management and administration experience while working in performing arts and in church administration, as well as her time as a U of M Extension Master Gardener will be very useful in furthering the goals of the organization. Serving the community is something Laurel strongly values, listening and serving those who are in need is always important, but it is particularly urgent now, in these times of political and economic uncertainty and public health emergency.
The Hunger Prevention Council of Pierce County, Inc. (HPC) is an independent, non-profit organization formed in 1999 to address inconsistent responses to hunger across Pierce County. The membership of the council includes various food pantries, organizations, government agencies, non-profits and concerned citizens. The group meets regularly working towards reducing hunger and providing access to healthy foods across Pierce County. While the Pierce County Food Pantry, located in Ellsworth, is a program of HPC, the other food pantries located in Pierce County remain independent. The Council offers these food pantries and other organizations working to alleviate hunger in Pierce County the unique opportunity to work as a group to attract donations, enact programming and pool resources.
After the previous coordinator’s departure from the Council this spring, the Council Board decided to split the duties of managing the Pierce County Food Pantry from coordination of the Council. Heidi Albarado has assumed management of the Pierce County Food Pantry.
Beginning this month, all Pierce County food pantries are able to offer more households the Grade-A foods provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The pantries are authorized food distributors in the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and can now provide no-cost groceries for households that have incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL). People who have lost jobs or income may obtain a monthly share of American-grown meat, vegetables, fruit, juice, and more from a TEFAP food pantry. Before June 1, 2020, TEFAP’s qualifying income threshold was 185% FPL. More information can be found at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/nutrition/tefap