FOOD PANTRY

We are glad you found us.

Badger Prairie Needs Network offers the largest grocery store style shopping experience in Dane County where you can select food that your family wants. Our pantry is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, frozen meat, prepared meals, grains, shelf-stable groceries and snacks. We also offer personal essentials including diapers, bar soap, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste, toilet paper, and laundry detergent when available.

FOOD PANTRY HOURS

Tuesday:  10a-Noon
Wednesday: 6-8pm
Thursday: 10a-6:30pm
Friday: 10a-Noon
Saturday: 10a-12:30pm

* Please arrive 45 minutes before close to allow time for registration and shopping.
* No shopping tickets issued 15 minutes of closing to honor volunteer schedules.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Households requesting food assistance from BPNN must provide proof of current address and show identification for each person. Must be original documents or electronic documents. Photos will not be accepted.

Effective Feb. 1 all registered households need to be reverified.

Acceptable Proof of Identification
Must be unexpired and for every member of your household regardless of age or immigration status.

  • Passport, Passport Card, or US Visa

  • Birth, marriage certificate or divorce judgement

  • Unexpired government-issued photo DL or ID

  • Any other government-issued product from a federal, state, county or city agency

  • Government or military-dependent ID or Military discharge papers

  • Social Security Card

  • Medicare / Medicaid Card

  • Photo ID from any U.S. university, college, technical college, high school, middle school, or elementary school

  • A letter dated within the past 60 days from school on letterhead providing child & parent name and address

Proof of Current Address

Each household must provide proof of address that is verifiable and must include the name of at least one of the people registered in the household. If living temporarily with another household, we can add you to that BPNN account with primary shopper permission. Accepted documents include:

  • Signed lease (unexpired) or current mortgage statement

  • Current Utility bill (within past 60 days)

  • Unexpired driver license with current address

If you are unable to provide ID/current address, please speak with our registration volunteers. For information on Proxy Shopping, read our Fact Sheet.

Woman with a rolling cart full of groceries
Food Pantry items with fruit and vegetables

FAQs

  • Our food pantry serves anyone residing in Dane County who requires food assistance.

  • You may visit the food pantry twice each month. Your 2nd visit may be any time during the month. If you run short between visits, you may shop our lobby during food pantry shopping hours.

  • On your first visit to BPNN, we will register your household. To register, you will need to bring ID for each household member and proof of address in Dane County. (Please see the section “What you Need to Know” to make sure you have what you need.)

    A volunteer will review your documents and, if ok, you will receive a BPNN household card. On all future visits, bring this card and an ID for yourself.

    Doors open 15-30 minutes before the pantry opens for shopping. Numbered tickets are issued and you enter the store in this order. To keep things moving for all shoppers, we ask that just one adult enter the store and that you turn off your cell phones.

    Inside the pantry, you shop independently in our grocery-style store. Volunteers are available to get you started and answer questions. Sometimes we have limits on the number of certain items you may take. We ask that you honor these limits so that everyone can benefit from hard-to-obtain items.

    When finished, your groceries are weighed and recorded for our inventory system.

  • Once you are registered after your initial visit, you will receive a BPNN Household card with a “verified” sticker on the back of the card. Do not remove the sticker and always bring this card with you along with an ID for yourself. Shoppers that bring these items can use our Express ticketing line, saving you time.

  • We carry a wide variety of healthy fresh and frozen produce, dairy, and proteins including milk, eggs, and meat. With the help of Second Harvest Food Bank, Community Action Coalition, community food drives, and cash donations we can offer packaged goods including baking supplies, cereal, pasta, canned tuna, fruits, vegetables, and soups. Our Kitchen-to-Table food recovery program provides the pantry with items donated from local businesses that operate employee cafeterias. These items are repackaged in microwavable containers for grab-and-go meals.

  • To avoid overcrowding in the pantry, please shop alone whenever possible. We limit shopping to one adult per household. If you can leave your children safely at home with another adult, that will speed up the shopping process for you and other shoppers.

  • An authorized proxy shopper is someone who does not live with you that is authorized to shop on your behalf when you are unable to come to BPNN yourself. You must be registered at BPNN before someone can shop for you and a Authorized Shopper Request Form must be completed. Read the fact sheet.

  • If you run short of food between pantry visits, our lobby has excess food that is available to anyone. You can shop without registering and as often as you want. Selections vary from day to day but can include "Grab and Go" meals, fresh produce, frozen soups, yogurt, bread & rolls, snacks, and sweets. Come to the Exit Lobby of the Food Pantry during our posted shopping hours.

    Please do not try to access the lobby before we start pantry shopping (10AM on most days and 6PM on Wednesday evenings). Volunteers need to access the lobby to stock it and it is a small space.

    If we are closed and you are having a food emergency, you can call 2-1-1 to locate other services.

  • 1200 E. Verona Ave, Verona, WI 53593

  • A Dane County Joining Forces for Families (JFF) social worker is available to help connect individuals with other assistance programs. Please call us if you are interested in contacting a representative from JFF.

Bunches of green onions in a basket

Holiday Closures:

  • New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

  • Memorial Day

  • Independence Day

  • Labor Day

  • Thanksgiving Day (Wednesday before through the following Monday)

  • Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Inclement Weather:

We close when temperatures or road conditions are unsafe. Generally, winter closings occur when:

  • Local temperatures and/or wind chill are -25° F or colder, or

  • Public Safety officials issue no-travel/stay-home alerts due to weather.

We post closures on our homepage and Facebook.

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 Questions? Call us at 608-848-2499
or email info@bpnn.org.

 If we are closed and you are having
a food emergency, call 211.

Shopping Tips:

  • Arrive early (45 minutes before close)

  • Shopping is on a first-come basis. Spots in line can’t be saved for others.

  • You must be present when your ticket number of called - otherwise you might lose your place.

  • No shopping tickets will be issued within 15 minutes of closing.

  • No cell phones are allowed in the pantry and only one adult per household can shop in the pantry to prevent overcrowding and keep things moving.

  • Watch for item limits. We want to make sure there is enough food for all shoppers.

  • Bring your own bags and boxes to get a bonus item.

  • Visit Thursday afternoons when wait times are often shorter.

COMMUNITY MEALS

Join us for a delicious free lunch every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month

11:30 am - 12:45 pm
in the Kasieta Center