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Loaves & Fishes
A Ministry for feeding our community physically, emotionally & spiritually

Sign up to serve here: https://bit.ly/loavesfishesbd

November Focus Article

The Need

Since our Loaves & Fishes Ministry has been in operation, there have been questions about what is the need for free meals is in Beaver Dam and the surrounding areas. Rumors sometimes swirl around Loaves & Fishes, such as people were taking extra meals and selling the meals. Another rumor was that most of the people coming through the line were from places like Madison. The latest rumor told to one of our volunteers is that people are coming through the line twice. These rumors are nonsensical but that these rumors are out there say that there is at least a small (hopefully) group of people that feel that people are getting more meals than they need.

Each time that we provide more meals, the number of households also increases, we don’t see more meals and the same number of households. We see people in line for the first time even though we have been serving meals for over two years. One of the things we researched when we started the Ministry was what is the need. We talked with all groups that are focused on food insecurity around Beaver Dam (food pantries, social services, other meal sites). We also researched the poverty level, and the ALICE Level Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed, also called the working poor for Dodge County.

The links below provide current information on what the poverty level is like in the City of Beaver Dam. The number of people that live in poverty in the City of Beaver Dam is believed to be about 9% of households. The number of households in the City of Beaver Dam is 2,790 households. That means approximately 251 households (men, women and children) in the City of Beaver Dam are living in poverty. We haven’t included the working poor. If we include the working poor percentage, which is believed to be about 27% of the households in Beaver Dam, this means an additional 753 households of our fellow Beaver Dam citizens are considered the working poor (ALICE). Add the working poor and poverty households together means we have 1,004 households that we would like to use our program. The most households we have ever served in a night are 404 households or 40% of the 1,004 households in need, and that doesn’t include all the households in the surrounding townships (rural areas). See the links below for more information on poverty and ALICE numbers in Dodge County.

Many struggle with the idea that the need is this big. Food insecurity is a much bigger issue than we are willing to admit. We need to find ways to serve more people, not less people.

Please review the below information. I believe this information can be helpful to all of us to better understand the need.
ALICE in the Crosscurrents: An Update on Financial Hardship in Wisconsin (ymaws.com)
2024 ALICE Report County Snapshots - Wisconsin (ymaws.com)

Thank you for all your support for the Beaver Dam Loaves & Fishes Hot Meal Ministry!
John & Linda Smedema

Our mission is to serve a weekly healthy hot meal to anyone who wants one. There will be no income requirements, we care about serving the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs of all people in our community. We want to create an environment where everyone feels welcomed and loved and a part of our community. We look to follow Jesus’ command from John 13:34 – “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

We must go live to feed the hungry, stand beside the broken, move us into action.
(Paraphrased from the song – God of Justice)