During the middle of February 2023, Kenosha County Food Bank had an opportunity to talk with Anna from WisConian Delectables regarding food donations in the month of January. Anna started in 2012 with hand crafted chips. Since COVID, she hasn’t had the production levels needed so she branched out into Amish condiments as well as wild rice and now carries the Decatur Dairy cheeses. When Anna isn’t at the Kenosha Public Market she also belongs to the American Legion Auxiliary.
Kenosha County Food Bank wanted to know more about how Anna got started and we asked “how did the idea of food donation come to be”, she responded “The Christmas holidays are a struggle for our family. From Thanksgiving through New Years Day, we’ve had 5 deaths over the years – the hardest was my father on Christmas Day. “Celebrating” typically comes with dinner/food. Realizing our struggles, the natural extension was thinking about other families and their struggles and when I found out that 1 in 8 people are hungry in the USA I just knew I needed to help in some way. But while 1 person can make a difference I thought utilizing the Market as a community drop off would be even more effective.”
January 2023 was their first food drive and Anna is hopeful that they can continue to do one every January. For their first food drive, they raised 410 lbs of donated goods that were in turn donated to Kenosha County Food Bank. Anna has lots of ideas on how to stay community focused and can be found at the Kenosha Public Market on Saturdays. The Kenosha Public Market moves outside on May 13th to the Municipal Building parking lot at 625 - 52nd St. from 8:30 am to 2 pm. It's more than twice as big during the outdoor season!
To read more about Anna and the wonderful things she is doing within the community, check out this article done by Racine County Eye: https://racinecountyeye.com/2023/01/06/food-drive-23-kenosha-public-market/