Local community center hosts free brunches

The Goodman Community Center is offering a free Sunday brunch in September and October. 

The brunches, located at the center, offer access to the food pantry and wellness activities, according to Jon Lica, Food Pantry Coordinator and Corporate and Events Associate. The September brunch takes place Sunday, September 18.

“The point of [the program] was to do a variety of things to deepen our family engagement with program participants, so we’ve encouraged a lot of the families of children who come to our youth programs to participate,” Lica said. 

The community brunch program also provide a work opportunity for teens in the Goodman Center’s TEENworks youth employment program.

The Sunday brunches allow the Goodman Community Center  to expand weekend food pantry hours, according to Lica. The food pantry is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays,  and these expanded weekend hours will improve access. Currently 125 families use the food pantry each week.

Lica said that about 90 individuals attended the last community brunches in July and August and that he would like to see more people at subsequent ones.

“We’d love to see people take advantage of it and we’re prepared to serve over 200 people,” Lica said. “It’s a brand new program, so we’re working on adjusting and trying to get people connected to it. The second one went smoother than the first one and we’re expecting the third one to be the best one yet.”

The community brunches are sponsored in part by SEED grants, grants offered by the City of Madison Food Policy Council to increase access to healthy food for children and families in Dane County, according to Lica.