A vision, a need, and a reality.... Wautoma Area School District Hornet Market

Tami Stansbury, Director of Food Service for the Wautoma Area School District, saw a food need for students and families. She said being director of the food service she observed students not having funds for lunch and she needed to find a way that students could have food to eat without putting more stress on families. She contacted Feeding America. For two years Stansbury was turned down by Feeding America saying that they supplied food for pantries in cities, towns and villages, but not to schools. Stansbury continued to be persistent and just would not take no for an answer. With the help of Marty Lee, Waushara County Food Pantry, two years ago they were the first school to have a pantry supplied by Feeding America. Stansbury would pick up a huge food order mostly by herself each week with help from an occasional volunteer at the Feeding America drop off site in Plainfield/Bancroft area. Tami would struggle to fit everything into the full-sized van, unloading pallets so everything would fit like a jenga puzzle and would then bring it back to the school’s market where there would be a crew of school kitchen volunteers ready to help Tami stock the market for the next day when they were open. This was a big and exhausting job for Tami. When the new President of the Kiwanis, Jeff Nett, started his new role as the group President, his vision was to find more hands-on projects to help the children in the Wautoma area. The group would do several fund-raisiers each year but they did not do hands-on projects to help “serve” the children. Kiwanis member Cindy Reilly, Chief Financial Officer of the Wautoma Area School District knew right where there was a need that would directly help and benefit the area children. The Kiwanis approached Tami and asked her where the biggest need for help was needed with the Hornet Market. It was clear that it was in the transportation and help of getting the food from the drop off site in Plainfield/Bancroft area and back to the school, something that would normally take Tami hours to do on her own. The Kiwanis quickly gathered a group of volunteers to go pick up the load for Tami, bring it back and help unload it for it to be stocked. The Kiwanis would drive their own personal trucks to go pick up the food from the Feeding America drop off site and load around 4,000- 5,000 pounds of food each week. The Kiwanis quickly learned that renting a delivery truck would be more attainable than driving 3 to 4 personal trucks each week, so the Kiwanis decided to reach out to Wautoma Rental. Wautoma Rental was willing to support the vision of the Hornet Market along with the Kiwanis and offered them a rental deal each week on the truck to pick up the food load and bring it back to the school. The Kiwanis decided that they would fund the truck rental each week out of their group budget. This has been a service project that the Kiwanis feel good about. The Kiwanis drivers and unloaders are Gary Christensen, Paul Hedrick, Dick Kalata, Jeff Kasuboski, Jeff Nett. The unloading crew is Sandy Bartels, Christine Brown, Carol King, Rick King, Jay Klemann, Cindy Reilly and Baby girl (service dog). Today, the Kiwanis members unload the truck and Tami and the volunteers from the food program put items in freezers and refrigerators and stock the shelves so they are ready for students, families, and staff to shop on Thursday afternoons. Stansbury also said that often students go to the pantry to grab a snack or a drink on other days. Volunteers for the Hornet Food Market include: Shirley Schloesser, Becky Weiss, Cathy Nourse Crystal Koppen, Elise Kittell, Roger Loberg, Deb Rosenow, Qiuwei Xu, Brenda Scherbert, Kalla Dougherty, Cindy Reilly, Tom Rheinheimer A+ After School Program students also help. Tami Stansbury saw a need and she was persistent and did not take no for a final answer. Through her persistence and the help of Marty Lee from the Waushara Food Pantry 380 individuals are served every week through the Hornet Market. Stansbury says, “I can remember meeting Marty Lee for the first time she said to me, “I’ve been looking for you! Getting a food pantry inside a school has always been a goal and a dream of mine”. Stansbury recalls her response back to Marty Lee was, “I’ve been looking for you too!” Who can shop the Hornet Market is quite simple, anyone erolled in the Wautoma Area School District. Stansbury has also has flyers available with “The Hornet Market Meal Ideas!” listing recipes for quick and easy meals made with the food available at the market. The market will be open through June 30th and reopen again in August. With the guidance of Stansbury, the Kiwanis transporting the food, and the volunteers from food service and the students from the Parkside A+ After School Program, there are hundreds of families in the district eating better and staying healthier thanks to the Hornet Market. Tami Stansbury appreciates the Kiwanis for their time, hard work, dedication and for the donation of the rental truck each week and everyone who helps to make the Hornet Market as successful as it is. Kiwanis is looking for more people who want to help serve the children in our area. If you are interested in joining the Kiwanis you can send an email to wautomakiwanis@gmail.com. If you have any questions about the Hornet Market, you can reach out to Tami Stansbury, stansburyt@wautoma.k12.wi.us.