Red Cliff Distributes $250K of Food During Pandemic

Red Cliff Food Distribution has collaborated with various local entities to provide $250,000 worth of food to the Red Cliff community and surrounding areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Red Cliff has partnered with the Hunger Relief Foundation to bring in three separate truckloads of food boxes to Red Cliff in order to provide free food to area residents. Each food box consists of packages of chicken, pork, dairy and two types of produce.

These food box deliveries are part of the Farm to Families Program that allowed the USDA to purchase food from farmers across the country, whose food would typically be sold to restaurants. Without the Farm to Families Program and USDA, farmers would more than likely be forced to dump this food out.

"This program has allowed us to create some incredible collaborations," said Red Cliff Food Distribution Director Butch Bresette. "Working with CORE in Bayfield, Madeline Island Food Pantry, the Bayfield County Aging and Disability Resource Center, BRICK Ministries, both Ashland and Bayfield County jails, Northern Lights nursing home and other local entities has been fantastic and there is a need to share support among all these programs."

The previous three truckloads contained roughly $200,000 of food, and the Red Cliff Food Distribution has been bringing in weekly pallets of milk, yogurt, and cheese sticks -- bringing the total to a quarter of a million dollars in food items distributed to the Red Cliff area population during the pandemic.

"I want to send a big thank you out to all who have participated in this project, from delivery drivers and office staff, to the staff out on the front line handing out the boxes to everyone," said Bresette. "This is the most rewarding part of any job I've had, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help everyone in our community.

The next two scheduled truckloads are set for August 13 and August 27, with locations yet to be determined. Details will be released in the coming days.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact Red Cliff Food Distribution at 715-779-3740.