The Marathon County Hunger Coalition, in partnership with The Grand Theater, will host the second annual Raisin' Great Kids Healthy Snack Drive in the Great Hall prior to the February 8 performance of Manitowoc Minute's Charlie Berens performance. Consider making a donation of raisins, fruit cups, nuts, applesauce and other health snacks to be distributed to local school-based pantries and backpack programs. With Spring Break coming soon, the 40% of Marathon County students who qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs may experience hunger on days when school is not in session.
If you have tickets for the performance, you can drop your donations off in the Great Hall prior to the show. Or, you can help support this effort by bringing your donations to The Grand Theater Ticket Office from 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on February 8.
Steve was referred to Peaceful Solutions Counseling, a United Way funded program, by his parole officer. He had a long history of substance abuse and had been in prison most of his adult life. Steve was abusing alcohol and opioids and had a history of domestic violence. He started counseling for his addiction issues and completed both phases of the SAFE program for domestic violence offenders.
The Marathon County Hunger Coalition, in partnership with The Grand Theater, will host the second annual 
At the annual Recognition Luncheon on January 23, over 300 people watched as Gene Popp, an employee at Wausau Window and Wall Systems, drew the lucky key to unlock the Fiat! The lucky winner was able to drive the car home the day of the event. The winners of the gas cards were Nikita Schave, Menzner Lumber and Supply, and Shirley Iczkowski, Aspirus.
On January 21, a group of 29 RSVP volunteers gathered to learn about youth hunger in our community. Blessings in a Backpack provides food to take home for the weekends to about 1,300 children weekly. After the presentation, members packed food for one school. Thank you to the RSVP volunteers who helped make the 3rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day project a great success! 
A majority of food donations are made around the holidays, but food insecurity is a year-round issue. To boost donations to local pantries, the Marathon County Hunger Coalition, an initiative of United Way, held a Souper Bowl Food Drive on February 1-2 at Trig's in Wausau. Trig's customers generously donated over 1000 food items to be distributed to individuals and families through Hunger Coalition food pantries. Thanks so much to Trig's and their customers for supporting this effort.
On January 24, the Housing and Homelessness Coalition, sponsored Project Connect. This housing resource fair provided information to individuals and families and connected them with local agencies providing financial and other basic needs resources. Lunch was provided by The Salvation Army and haircuts were available thanks to Mrs. Liz Hart and her students at the State College of Beauty.