HORICON — Families who need some extra help to care for their babies have an option in Horicon.
The Horicon Phoenix Program Baby Pantry is located downtown and has items such as diapers and baby formula on hand for disadvantaged families, similar to a food pantry. The baby pantry, which opened in December 2017, is located at 319 E. Lake St. and accessed through a door at the rear of the building, where there is a parking lot and a walkway.
“Our goal is to help people in need with baby supplies,” said Executive Director Liz Darner. “We don’t have any regional restrictions. We don’t need proof of income or anything. We just want people to get what they need.”
Darner said that the biggest demand is for diapers and baby wipes, but the pantry has every type of item families might need for their babies, whether it is clothes, ointment, wash and so on. The pantry also has items geared toward mothers.
The pantry receives extras from organizations like the Dodge County Women, Infants and Children nutrition program and has received financial support from organizations like the Shopko Foundation and Horicon Lions.
It also accepts cash and material donations from the public.
“The best way to get a hold of us is through our Facebook page,” Darner said. “Send us a message there and then we can make an appointment to pick up or have items dropped off.”
The pantry has PayPal on its website for financial donations.
Regular hours to visit the baby pantry are Mondays from 4-6 p.m., but appointments can be made by sending a Facebook message.
‘We’re really nicely set with things right now,” Darner said. “We had a Facebook post and we’ve had a lot of people coming in the past two weeks.”
She said one major items families often look for are car seats for older babies and toddlers, and the pantry is always looking for more, making sure they are gently used and checked for recalls.
A few dozen people come in every week, Darner said.
Dodge County has other pantries in the area for families in need like the Dodge County Food Pantry through St. Vincent de Paul and the Community Food Pantry, both in Beaver Dam, and the Christian Life Fellowship pantry in Mayville.
In Horicon, there is the St. Vincent de Paul at Sacred Heart Church and the pantry at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.
Some of the other area programs have income and residency requirements.
