For Kettle Moraine Food Pantry Director Jolene Johnson-Van Den Elzen, the Pantry’s top service isn’t food itself; it’s dignity.
When she stands in the grocery-store-setup, Jolene sees a well-established Pantry always stocked with basic needs for neighbors when they need it. But when a holiday is on the horizon, basics don’t seem like enough.
Family traditions offer a sense of continuity during unstable times, preserving culture and identity. Jolene longs to provide families with the food components of traditions that connect and comfort, but centerpiece menu items for holiday celebrations don’t always fit within the standard budget.
This year, however, Jolene is thrilled to stock Easter hams from an unlikely source—the Delafield Public Library.
The 2026 Winter Reading Program challenged library patrons to collectively read 100,000 minutes during the frosty month of February. If they reached that lofty goal, community sponsors would donate $900 to the Kettle Moraine Food Pantry.
Program participants spanned all ages and walks of life. Whether sitting cross-legged on the floor animatedly reading a picture book with a toddler, or in a favorite chair quietly tackling a hefty nonfiction book, all minutes counted. Some who joined were motivated by the Food Pantry donation, others such as Caryl McAllister just “thought 100,000 minutes sounded like a lot and wanted to do my part.”
Planning for the Winter Reading Program is a long process, beginning in October of the previous year, but the effort is worthwhile to Delafield Public Library Head of Youth Services Andrea Bisordi, who loves how truly collaborative the program is. Between the Food Pantry, the Library, the generous business partners, and the patrons who get to be a part of positive change for the community, “it is a wonderful win-win partnership all around.”
Either this February was extra frosty, or the hearts of the community were extra warm, but participants exceeded the goal by 84%, reading a total of 184,191 minutes!
“The way the Library takes something like reading and ties it to filling this community need…I love seeing how all of that integrates,” remarks Jolene. She believes that “the Pantry works when the community gets behind it,” and this winter she saw that in action as the Library and their rabble of readers bridged the gap between 9 sponsors and the Food Pantry, resulting in the comfort of tradition for our neighbors. 💙🧡💛