Building on Relationships in the Summer of Coronavirus
Westminster Presbyterian Church and School Food Programs
By Marcia Bosscher
Collaboration Project Story Team
"Schools shut down and immediately we were brainstorming, what are the kids and families going to need?" said Cherokee Heights Middle School social worker Abby Ray in an interview with Collaboration Project's Jon Anderson and Westminster missions chair Pamela Wilson.
Providing food for families who depended on the now-closing school food programs rose to the top.
Ray reached out to Laura Glaub, social worker at Thoreau Elementary, as the two schools had many shared families.
"What can we do?" she asked. They had two days to get food out of school food pantries and develop a plan.
Glaub approached Westminster Presbyterian for help. "They opened their arms immediately," Glaub said, offering their space and asking what they could do.
With no idea when they'd be able to move back into the schools, the social workers gathered volunteers and moved the food stores into the church's fellowship hall and adjacent refrigerator and freezer. With the church just down the road from Thoreau and Cherokee, they were able to do it in a day.
That Glaub immediately thought to ask the church for help speaks to the history of a relationship. Westminster had been an Adopt-a-School Partner with Thoreau for years, supported by Mary Bartzen from the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools.
Wilson described the joy church members take in that partnership. They've been able to provide snow pants, school supplies, and backpacks. During a year when Thoreau's summer reading program was cancelled due to budget shortfalls, Westminster provided three years of funding to keep the program going.
In 2018, Wilson and Pastor Scott Anderson led the church in an additional partnership with Cherokee Heights, helping the school establish a food pantry. The church provided donations toward the purchase of refrigeration equipment, provided volunteer staff, and has helped with food drives and fresh food deliveries from community gardens.
Westminster then became the home of the Thoreau Weekend Food Bag Program. In response to identified food insecurity—and with help from many community partners—bags of food for weekend meals were assembled at Westminster and delivered on Fridays to Thoreau.
Now that program had to end. The school was closed. But because of the relationship established over years, Westminster was poised to respond to the new reality of the pandemic.
"What can we do?" they continued to ask and were prepared to do what was needed.
The first few weeks school staff and church volunteers, led by the social workers, handled food assembly and delivery. But the word got out and soon all the feeder schools for West High were included and the Madison West High Area Collaborative was established. Some 70 volunteers stepped in every two weeks to pack up food at Westminster and deliver along 40 routes, serving approximately 370 families.
The food has come from many sources including Second Harvest, Community Action Coalition, and FoodChain. Through FoodChain, food was purchased from Amish farmers who were struggling in the pandemic to get their goods to market, benefiting all involved.
Wilson described how church and community members contributed to purchase and donate 400 pounds of brick cheese. This was considered a win, win, win—for local farmers with milk, cheese makers, and families in need.
In addition to food, the Collaborative provides items such as diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and hygiene products. And the Collaborative has begun to provide rent assistance. Ray described how the need for help with rent has soared since the eviction moratorium was lifted. Grants and donations have come from the United Way of Dane County, churches, and community members.
"We have accomplished a lot," Ray said, "but when we think back to that first day when Westminster opened their arms and said come on, come in, bring what you need, do what you need to do. We would have been able to do nothing without that. When you think back to the beginning, to the foundation, working together and being open and flexible has made it possible."
Wilson agreed, "Because we had a good relationship before the pandemic, it all went so smoothly."
"That’s the beauty of relationships," Jon Anderson said, "you weren't trying to start this in the midst of it, you had something to build on."
The need is great. Please consider volunteering with or donating to the collaborative.
All donations are tax-deductible.
Volunteering: To volunteer, contact volunteeryourtime.org and click on this link for the Madison West High Area Collaborative.
Rent Assistance Fund: Donations towards the Collaborative’s rent assistance fund can be made directly to the Midvale Lincoln PTO (When you click on the donation link, you will be redirected to PayPal. From that screen, please choose "MWHAC Rent/Bills Covid-19 Assistance" in the optional drop-down menu, so they know where you want your donation to go.) You can also send a check made out to Midvale Lincoln Elementary PTO directly to Alexa Wautier at 822 Miami Pass, Madison, WI 53711.
Food Needs Fund: Donations towards additional food needs above and beyond what Second Harvest can provide can be made directly to the Thoreau Elementary PTO (PayPal link) You can also send a check made out to the Thoreau Elementary PTO directly to Alexa Wautier at 822 Miami Pass, Madison, WI 53711 or send it via Venmo to @Alexa-Wautier.
If you have any questions or if you would like to connect the program with your employer or other business who might consider a donation as part of a corporate giving program, please contact Alexa Wautier at anpaliwal@hotmail.com or 608-320-6929.
Local news stories for more information
‘One community together’: West High Area Collaborative helps Madison families with rent
'An honor and privilege to step up': Community, school staff aid MMSD food distribution efforts
Join us on Monday, September 21 from 7:00 to 8:30pm* to hear Abby Ray, Pamela Wilson, and Laura Glaub share more of the amazing story of the West High Collaborative and consider how your congregation might better serve your school partner and the surrounding community.
We invite you to partner with us in telling stories that highlight how God is working in and through the local church by supporting Collaboration Project today.