Madison, WI, August 28, 2025– This September, during Hunger Action Month, Second Harvest Foodbank is calling on community members throughout southwestern Wisconsin to come together to help end hunger.
Hunger Action Month is a national campaign held to raise awareness of hunger. Awareness is the first step toward action, and every action – big or small – brings us closer to ending hunger.
Food insecurity in southwestern Wisconsin has reached its highest rate in over a decade, reaching nearly 147,000 people facing hunger, including nearly 40,000 children. Of the communities Second Harvest supports throughout southwestern Wisconsin, food insecurity rates range from a low of 10.2% of the general population in Green County to a high of 14.7% in Adams County.
With the largest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid in history now signed into law, food and health care will soon be further out of reach for millions of people—including children. Hunger is a crisis—and together, we can meet this moment.
The following communities and civic organizations are supporting Hunger Action Month:
- The cities of Madison, Fitchburg, and Sun Prairie will be issuing proclamations designating September as Hunger Action Month
- Area buildings will be illuminated with orange lights (orange is the symbolic color of hunger):
- Madison Municipal Building (September 9 – September 14)
- Fitchburg City Hall (all September)
- Sun Prairie City Hall (all September)
- WMTV studio (all September)
- Southwest Library System participating libraries in Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland counties will feature book displays about hunger, poverty, and community resilience
People can get involved locally by donating at SecondHarvestSW.org/Donate or through the following actions:
- Go Orange on Hunger Action Day, Tuesday, September 9th. Wear orange, snap a photo, and submit it to WMTV15News.com/Orange. Each of the first 500 photos submitted will help provide up to 10 bags of groceries to area families facing hunger.
- Tune in to 105.5 Triple M for the Request-A-Thon on Thursday, September 25th, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 608-204-8000 or visit SecondHarvestSW.org/Request to submit your song request. Donations will be matched by the Alliant Energy Foundation.
Learn more about how you can take action by visiting SecondHarvestSW.org/HAM.
