St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette in the News

WBAY TV- INTERVIEW: Marinette food pantry sees higher demand, fewer resources

MARINETTE, Wis. (WBAY) - St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Marinette reported earlier this month it was already visited 5,000 times this year compared to 3,600 visits during all of 2021.
Now the pantry is heading into the busiest months of the year. It’s on pace to accommodate more than 6,000 visits this year, driven in part by another pantry’s unexpected closure earlier this year.
Ashley Berken, executive director of the St. Vincent De Paul Society of Marinette, talked with Action 2 News anchor Jeff Alexander about the impact of that pantry closing and how her food pantry is budgeting for this unexpected surge.
We also asked about the rising cost of food (and everything) and how that’s playing a role in demand for their services and how it’s affecting the pantry’s own efforts to obtain food. Berken tells us how others in the community can help, and she talks about the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry’s plans for holiday meals.

FOX 11 WLUK - Marinette food pantry sees large spike in demand, seeks help before holiday season

MARINETTE (WLUK) -- St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Marinette is expecting 2022 to be be record breaking with visits so far this year outpacing 2021.
Executive Director Ashley Berken says part of that is due to the recent closure of another Marinette food pantry.
​“We are seeing over 4,600 visits. We’re on track for about 6,000," Berken said. "Typically, we see about 300 visits a month from our food pantry visitors. Last month, we were seeing over 900 visits."So far, they've been able to keep up with demand.
“Right now, we’re getting by with our weekly distribution," Berken said. "However, our financial strain might become larger than we can take on.”
Inflation is another reason why the pantry is seeing a greater demand.
According to the Consumer Price Index, the average cost of eating at home has risen roughly 13% in the last 12 months.
Basic things like white bread are up 12.9% and chicken up 17.6% over the last year.
It's resulted in the pantry seeing a plateau in food donations.
Click here to donate to the pantry and learn more about different ways to donate.

Classic Hits 103.7 - New Systemic Change Program Launched

Eagle Herald - "St. Vincent de Paul seeks sponsors from businesses"

Food Pantry Launches First Sponsorship Program to Combat War on Hunger in Marinette and Menominee Counties
MARINETTE—A local food pantry is asking local businesses to join the front lines against the war on hunger in Marinette and Menominee counties as demand and expenses rapidly increase.
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in downtown Marinette is now offering local businesses the chance to invest in the area’s largest food pantry in exchange for corporate publicity. The program, which can be reviewed on the SVdP website at svdpmarinette.org/pantrysponsorship, allows businesses to make a difference for as little as a $1,000 investment. This funding will go directly to the food pantry program, which has seen a steady increase in demand and expense.
“It is truly the perfect storm,” Executive Director Ashley Berken said. “Our food pantry visits have been steadily climbing each month, and grocery costs are through the roof. But, it’s not only that; gas prices, utility expenses and every other budget item are rising each week. Pair that with the fact that another local food pantry announced they are closing their doors, and we are preparing for another rollercoaster of a year.”
By: Noelle Friel
Posted at 7:06 AM, Mar 02, 2022
and last updated 7:45 AM, Mar 02, 2022
MARINETTE (NBC 26) — Helping neighbors in need - that’s the mission of the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and food pantry of Marinette. All of the proceeds from the store go toward helping to provide community members with any basic essentials they might need, from clean clothes to free meals to get through the week.
“We run a multitude of different programs from mattresses for those in need to clothing and hygiene drives, anything and everything we can do to help our neighbors in need we try to do here,” said executive director Ashley Berken

WFRV - Local thrift store offers free mattresses to those who can’t afford one

by: Cora Seibt
Posted: Mar 2, 2022 / 04:33 PM CST
Updated: Mar 2, 2022 / 04:35 PM CST
MARINETTE, Wis. (WFRV) – A Marinette thrift store is offering a helping hand with a limited amount of free mattresses for community members who are unable to afford a bed. 
St. Vincent de Paul District (SVdP) of Marinette, home to the area’s largest thrift store and food pantry, is currently offering a Beds for Those in Need program to ensure everyone in the area has a place to sleep comfortably.

WLUK - Marinette food pantry sees 160% increase in visits

by Charlee Rubesky and Ashley Kaster, FOX 11 News
Wednesday, October 13th 2021MARINETTE (WLUK) -- An area food pantry has been experiencing a 160% increase in visits while donations have been down.
"When the pandemic started last year, we did see both a rise and fall in numbers of visitors coming into our pantry monthly," St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette executive director Ashley McKinnon said.
St. Vincent de Paul Society says the large increase in visits has been happening since April 2021.

WLUC - Marinette Food Pantry sees visits sharply increase since April

By TV6 News Team
Published: Oct. 13, 2021 at 2:16 PM CDT
MARINETTE, Wis. (WLUC) - Visits to the area’s largest food pantry continue to climb while in-kind donations dwindle and the community is being asked for support.
Since April 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette (SVdP) has experienced a 160% increase in visits to its food pantry.
According to Executive Director, Ashley McKinnon, an increase was expected as the pandemic lags on, but a number this large was never predicted and the small nonprofit is struggling to keep up.

WFRV - Local couple day "I do" at St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Marinette

by: Brenda Ordonez
Posted: Aug 13, 2021 / 01:57 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 15, 2021 / 04:47 PM CDT
MARINETTE, Wis. (WFRV) – After laying eyes on one another for the first time while at work, two local lovebirds are tying the knot and taking the term ‘loyal employee’ to a whole new level.
Casually meeting around two years ago while working at Marinette’s St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Thrift Store, Scott Kopish and Laurie Hinkens had no clue they would be saying “I do” in that exact location.