Human memory is a fickle thing; events that seem absolutely momentous as they occur quickly fade from active memory and disappear. To help us remember the events of the Pantry's development, we record significant events (or at least events which we believe to be significant) in this Pantry history.
| Date | Event | # Households |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2020 | Karen's Essential Center membership to Pepartnership, Inc. is unanimously approved at quarterly Board of Directors meeting. | 14,392 total; 1,813 active within last 18 months |
| Jan 7, 2019 | Online domain moves from pepartnership.net to www.essentialspantry.org. | 13,469 total PEPartnership households; 2,700 active within last 18 months |
| February 2015 | Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, WI adds a PEP to its existing food pantry, and becomes a member of the Alliance. | 10,039 total PEPartnership households; 2,400 active households |
| August 2014 | The Matt Urban Human Services Center in Buffalo, NY joins the Alliance, and registers its first household with PEPbase. | 9,460 total PEPartnership households; 2,286 active households |
| December 2013 to January 2014 | PEPartnership, Inc., moved to new space at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, at 2401 Atwood Avenue. The Personal Essentials Pantry Zion moved with PEPartnership, Inc., and became the Personal Essentials Pantry Atwood. | 8747 total PEPartnership households; 2784 active households |
| February 2013 | First (annual?) meeting of staff and volunteers from PEPartnership Alliance agencies, intended to allow better communication and sharing of information and strategies. Afternoon session is open to anyone interested in the area of personal/household hygiene pantries and the PEPartnership Alliance. | 7275 total PEPartnership households; 3272 active households |
| October 2012 | IRS issues its letter of determination, confirming that PEPartnership, Inc., is a 501(c)3 corporation, exempt from Federal income tax. | 6816 total PEPartnership households; 3051 active households |
| October 2012 | Two new Personal Essentials Pantries join the PEPartnership Alliance: Good Neighbors PEP, in south Madison off the West Beltline, and PEP Immanuel, in Watertown. | 6816 total PEPartnership households; 3051 active households |
| September 2012 | Cloth Diapering program starts, with Cassie Louis as instructor and resource. This program provides a complete set of diapers, diaper covers, etc., that lasts from birth through potty training to families who prefer cloth diapers to disposable diapers. Families choosing to go with cloth diapers can then receive only limited, emergency supplies of disposable diapers. Difference is $100 for cloth diapers compared to $2700 for disposables, and reduces the load on landfills. (It's estimated that diapers take 500 years to decompose in a landfill.) | 6634 total PEPartnrship households; 3335 active households |
| August 2012 | Version 3.0 of PEPbase released -- major rework of the user interface. Version 3.0 also allows guest access so that guests can find Alliance pantries, and see what each has in stock, before making the investment of time and gas to visit a pantry. | 6526 total PEPartnership households; 3069 active households |
|
December 2011 |
We incorporate as PEPartnership, Inc. | 5653 total PEPartnership households; 2374 active households |
| June 2011 | The Watershed Church starts a Personal Essentials Pantry as part of the PEPartnership. |
4742 total PEPartnership households; 2347 active households |
| March 2011 | PEPbase 2.1 released; revises shopping data to reflect "out of stock" status on fulfillment studies. Major PEPbase reports copied onto PEPartnership website for access by general public (although all possibility of retrieving personally identifiable data is blocked). |
4529 total PEPartnership households; 2541 active households |
| February 2011 | PEPbase software, website transferred to new server; Michael Rolfsmeyer takes over maintenance and development of PEPbase software, other Pantry software. |
4434 total PEPartnership households; 3120 active households |
| December 2010 | PEPReports (series of a dozen reports on various aspects of PEP guest demographics and statistics) coded, added as adjunct link to PEPbase software. |
4233 total PEPartnership households; 2786 active households |
| November 2010 | Presentation on the PEPartnership at Poverty Matters!, WISCAP 2010, Appleton WI. |
4205 total PEPartnership households; 2521 active households |
| September 2010 | Catholic Multicultural Center began operation as an active member of the PEPartnership, offering a subset of 10 PEP products, and registering 31 new households during the month of September. |
3932 total PEPartnership households; 3325 active households |
| June 2010 | Received grant from Madison Community Foundation, Inc., and began PEPartnership, a project to network with other agencies in Madison area, with joint use of PEPbase software/database, to broaden the availability of personal and household hygiene products across multiple agencies. | 3598 total households; 2251 active households |
| May 2010 | Included in Bishop's video presentation for South Central Synod of Wisconsin ELCA 2010 Assembly, "Where Is God's Love Taking You?", as one of the three SCSW ministries highlighted for Assembly. Received year 2 funding from ELCA Domestic Hunger Grant. |
3435 total households; 2179 active households |
| December 2-3, 2009 | Presentation (peer-review acceptance), Working Between the Lines, on what we can now say about the depth and breadth of the field of personal and household hygiene needs at Poverty Matters!, 2009 WISCAP Conference, Appleton WI. |
3114 total households; 2293 total households |
| November 2009 | Initial extraction and analysis of PEPbase data for presentation at 2009 Poverty Matters! conference (see December 2009, above); library of data search strategies being compiled for use in longitudinal comparisons. |
2050 total households; 2336 active households |
| October 2009 | Initiation of research on demographics, taking "snapshot" of Pantry guest ethnicity and conducting open-end interviews to better understand how guests perceive our ministry. |
2964 total households; 2240 active households |
| September 2009 | Policies regarding listing of out-of-stock products changed. Having gathered data on total need from January 2008 to August 2008, and analyzed the data, we are now de-listing products as they go out of stock, so that they are not listed on guest shopping lists, and re-listing them as they come back in stock. Resulting shopping lists somewhat confusing to guests: are products not on shopping list because guests are not eligible for them? or because Pantry does not have them? |
2861 total households; 2187 active households |
| August 2009 | The Demise of the Toilet Paper Fairy presentation at 1st Annual Madison Nonprofit Day, Madison, WI. Working Between the Lines presentation at Understanding and Overcoming Poverty conference, Wausau WI, in conjunction with the PEPs at St. John the Evangelist Church, Wisconsin Rapids, and First United Methodist Church of Rhinelander. |
2742 total households; 2119 active households |
| May 2009 | ELCA World Hunger Program grant of $3,000 received |
2434 total households; 1961 active households |
| April 2, 2009 | PEP Benefit Concert with Lou & Peter Berryman, Dan Newton & Daddy Squeeze Trio; formal community sponsor drive kick-off |
2245 total households; 1908 active households |
| April 2009 | PEPbase V1.0 being released for use by other pantries and agencies |
2245 total households; 1908 active households |
| March 2009 | PEP Plan of Operation finalized and approved, ready for implementation beginning June 2009 |
2216 total households; 1817 active households |
| January 2009 | PEPbase household, product and shopping history databases linked to provide customized control of shopping lists |
2070 total households; 1719 active households |
| August 24, 2008 | Front-page, full-color article on Pantry in Wisconsin State Journal by reporter Sandy Kalio |
1512 total households; 1312 active households |
| July 2008 | PEPbase household database up and running; tracks composition of households, facilitates prevention of duplicate registration of same household |
1431 total households; 1192 active households |
| June 8, 2008 | PEP Rally held, celebrating Pantry's second anniversary |
1286 total households; 1062 active households |
| January 2008 | Pantry rules revised in anticipation of PEPbase; guests may visit as often as needed, as many times per year as needed; shopping list to be controlled by product longevity rules and household composition. 'Active household' definition developed: active households are those which have visited at least once in past 18 months. |
823 total households; 599 active households |
| November 2007 | Interim Pantry Advisory Board formed: Allison Christians, Peter Luisi, Sue Marks, Peter Uttech | 592 households |
| September 2007 | First Pantry database of households established | 488 households |
| August 15, 2007 | Thrivent Financial for Lutherans provides a $15,000 grant to the Pantry | 462 households |
| August 2007 | Christine Thompson takes on formal job of Pantry Coordinator | 437 households |
| January 2007 | Pantry rules revised to reflect dramatic increase in number of households; families still able to visit once per month, but can only visit six times per year | 172 households |
| June 8, 2006 | First two Pantry guest households registered | 2 households |
| June 1, 2006 | Pantry open for business | Not yet applicable |
| June 2006 | Sue Marks takes on responsibility of coordinating the Pantry. Shopping lists prepared; guests will be allowed 1 visit per month, 12 visits per year | Not yet applicable |
| May 15, 2006 |
Pantry shelves installed; Zion Library recommissioned as Pantry
|
Not yet applicable |
| May 11, 2006 | Adult Stepping Stones discussion: what does the neighborhood and community need from us? | Not yet applicable |