by: Kristina Kuphaupt, Customer Experience Manager
Community Reinvestment Fund Seeking Committee Members by November 14
Each year, the Co-op allocates a certain amount of abandoned Owner equity to provide grants to local nonprofits and cooperatives for project/organizational work that meets the areas of criteria: food justice and access, sustainable agriculture, health and wellbeing, and/or social change. In Fiscal Year 2025, the committee received 39 applications and made $65,000 in total awards to 17 organizations. In 2025, we piloted a new grant fund—Rooted In Our Community. This fund is for larger capital purchases and investments that support our local, sustainable food system. Our Board of Directors allocated $20,000 for the 2025 grant cycle, and three organizations received grants from this fund. The CRF Committee is responsible for reviewing the project grant proposals and making recommendations to the Co-op’s Board of Directors for award approval.
How you can get involved: If you would like to be considered, please fill out our form at willystreet.coop/ownership/committees by Friday, November 14. Committee members must be available from 6:00pm–9:00pm between February 9 and March 4 for two meetings. Time outside of meetings is required to review documents, and a reception for the grant winners and committee members will be scheduled for the week of April 20 from 6:00pm–8:00pm. Ideal candidates have backgrounds in at least one of the following program focuses: food justice and/or access, creating cooperatives, sustainable agriculture, health and wellbeing, and/or social change.
Pantries of Plenty Double Dollars Match
The last two months of the year are an impactful time to help support local families gain food security. Starting November 1 and running until December 31, the Co-op will give a 1:1 match on your cash donations and bag reuse, up to $15,000 by providing Pantries of Plenty donations to our five neighborhood food pantries: Goodman Community Center Fritz Food Pantry, Lussier Community Education Center, WayForward, The River Food Pantry, and Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. The match will be split five ways for the pantries to acquire fresh items that are harder to come by in the winter season. The Pantries of Plenty Double Dollars Match is made possible through abandoned and donated Owner equity over the years. Last year, with donations to the Double Dollars Fund from Co-op shoppers, we matched $11,808. Thank you for your continued support to make this partnership possible. Let’s see if this year we can achieve the full $15,000 match!
As a reminder, Double Dollars is a community-supported program through the City of Madison and Dane County administered by the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin. From late fall to mid-spring, Double Dollars are available at the Co-op, and from June to late fall, Double Dollars are available at participating farmers’ markets while funds last. The vouchers are mainly supported by individual donations, grants, and city/county funding.
How you can get involved: Choose a $1, $5, $10, or $25 Double Dollars Fund scan card at the cash registers to add a cash donation to your receipt at checkout, or by simply reusing bags when you shop at the Co-op! When you bring reusable bags for your shopping trip, the Co-op will contribute 10¢ to the fund per bag. You will see this donation as a line item on your receipt. All monies that go to the Double Dollars Fund are sent to Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin to administer the program.
River Food Pantry Bag Campaign
The River Food Pantry has been a staple organization in our North community since 2006, supporting families who are in need of nutritional support to build a strong community. In 2024, they distributed more than 3,427,500 pounds of food and supplies, 126,042 meals to go, assisted with 3,122 deliveries for those in our community who are homebound, over 59,300 mobile meals, and 833 after-hours food bags.
How you can get involved: During the entire month of November, you can purchase pre-packed grocery bags at Willy North to help provide some additional support for basic needs this holiday season. We piloted these bags earlier in February through early April, helping to donate 345 bags during that time period. Let’s see if we can get that same number in one month!
Middleton Keeping Neighbors Warm Campaign
How you can get involved: Donate new or gently used mittens, hats, scarves, and coats at Willy West through November 5. All items collected will be donated to WayForward Resources for distribution. In their 2024 campaign, nearly 700 articles of warm layers for our community were donated at several drop-off sites, including our Willy West store.
For more information about WayForward Resources, please visit their website: wayforwardresources.org.
For additional information about this drive’s past results, please check out: visitmiddleton.com/2024-keeping-neighbors-warm-results.
Madison Street Medicine
Madison Street Medicine is on a mission to bridge gaps in the healthcare system by offering free medical care and housing resources. They envision a community where individuals experiencing housing insecurity have equitable access to both. They partner with doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and MEDiC students who give their time at their free clinics.
How you can get involved: Donate new adult underwear (any gender) and hand warmers at all three Co-op stores November 14–30. Learn more about Madison Street Medicine at www.madisonstreetmedicine.org.
Santas Without Chimneys Campaign
Santas Without Chimneys is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing holiday gifts and essentials to children and youth who lack stable housing. Inspired by the idea that Santa often comes down a chimney to deliver gifts, Santas Without Chimneys ensures that kids without a traditional home still experience the magic of the holidays.
Starting in November, diligent social workers throughout the Madison Metropolitan School District and other local community services sign up their eligible families and submit each child’s wishlist. SWC then posts the lists on their website so that people in the community can see what sorts of things are being requested, or, if they want, sponsor one or more children whose wishes they will fulfill! In either case, unwrapped gifts are then brought to drop-boxes around town, and more of the SWC elves ferry them back to the SWC Workshop so that they can be matched to a specific child, wrapped, and delivered.
Last year, with the help of our community, they delivered wrapped holiday gifts to more than 900 children and youth experiencing homelessness in the Madison area.
How you can get involved: Donate unwrapped toys at any Co-op store December 8-22. You can also consider volunteering or sponsoring a child or family; to learn more, visit santaswithoutchimneys.org.
