A donation by Tomah Health staff, providers and board members made this holiday a bit merrier for Tomah’s Neighbor for Neighbor Food Pantry.
Tomah Health marketing & public relations director Eric Prise said a $3,100 donation to the pantry is from hospital staff, board members and volunteers who had the opportunity to accept a gift card from the hospital as a holiday gift or donate the value of the item to the pantry. Prise said that over the last 11 years the organization has made the donation, which has totaled nearly $30,000 to the local pantry.
Food Pantry executive director Dawn Pleuss said the donation is vital to daily operations for the pantry at 1118 W. Veterans St., Tomah. “We will be using these funds to go towards our operational expenses,” said Pleuss. “People think food pantries and they think donations of food, but we also need money to keep the doors open and keep things up and running.”
Pleuss said the number of people who visit the pantry for food has been increasing. “Towards the holidays it always picks up, but we also have had a lot of new clients within the last couple of months and it continues to rise.”
She said the pantry is providing food to nearly 400 families each month. “We are predicting that it’s going to be very busy. We have a lot of new clients coming in and people just cannot afford to go their grocery store.”
Pleuss said the pantry is always seeking donations to meet its mission.
