PLOVER - Rev. Leah Woehr-Grande hadn't been in Plover long when she saw how poverty impacts Portage County residents, especially in her work with food insecurity.
"It’s not just numbers and statistics. I have faces and stories, highs and lows," she said.
Woehr-Grande is in her second year of volunteering with the Interfaith Food Pantry. She provides spiritual and emotional support to families who come into the bimonthly food pantry, offering a hug, a shoulder or a prayer. She also serves on the pantry's board and as an associate pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Plover.
The pantry opens its doors to the public every second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
"It’s an opportunity to connect and build community and hear firsthand the struggles the families are facing," she said.
Interfaith Food Pantry averages about 230 families during each of those nights. Woehr-Grande spends her time greeting and checking in with families but three hours isn't enough time to talk to hundreds of families, to hear their hopes and dreams.
"You see women coming through who are pregnant and then later see them come through with the baby and then (the baby's) walking," she said "You see them change and grow."
Woehr-Grande sees families not just at their high points. She remembers a family coming through as one spouse had grown ill and died.
"You’re present in the family’s lives in a way that’s really a privilege and is sacred ground," she said.
The families Woehr-Grande spends so much time with and thinking about are supported through community donations and campaigns such as USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's annual Stock the Shelves campaign. October is Hunger Awareness Month and Stock the Shelves, which started Oct. 1, encourages readers to donate money to help fight hunger in their local communities.
Newspaper readers and community partners have raised nearly $5 million for food pantries throughout northeast and central Wisconsin since 2010. USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has partnered with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to distribute donations in the area.
Donations will go to local pantries partnered with the nonprofit, regional food bank and stay in Portage County. Stevens Point Journal readers who donate will be helping The Salvation Army Hope Center, Community Thrift Store's food pantry, Interfaith Food Pantry and Operation Bootstrap.
The campaign goal for 2019 is to raise enough money to provide 1 million meals for hungry families through central and eastern Wisconsin. Patti Habeck, president and CEO, of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin said the organization can provide three meals for every $1 donated.
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Woehr-Grande, 44, came to Plover in the summer of 2017 from southeastern Pennsylvania. In that time she's seen how hunger is one piece of the systemic issues affecting those living below or slightly above the poverty line. She said the families she works with struggle with finding affordable housing, access to mental services, child care support and legal assistance.
"I see folks who fall through the cracks, people who make too much but yet can’t quite make it," she said.
She said she views her role as just one piece in a broader community care network that's built on moments of compassion. She assumed that role through an invitation when she started with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and said she's realized combating food insecurity is part of her calling in her service of God.
"It’s one of those things where you’re a well-oiled machine or a hive. Everyone has their role to play in it," she said.
Volunteers help sustain that community connection, including Jan Freis. She's volunteered with the pantry for about nine years and serves on its board. Her service began when her husband started working for St. Michael's Hospital, which required community outreach. Something clicked when she started volunteering. Freis spends at least 20 hours a month working at the pantry.
"Once you start, and you see these people and you see them twice a month, my heart goes out to them," she said. "You just get to know some of these people. I feel guilty if I can’t be there for some reason."
Contact reporter Alan Hovorka at 715-345-2252 or ahovorka@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ajhovorka.
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