Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin is the food bank for the Madison region, covering 16 counties across the southwestern part of the state. It fills close to a million emergency food requests a year through partner agencies and its own programs. Michelle Orge has led it as President and CEO since 2019, bringing more than two decades of food-bank leadership experience from Colorado and Michigan. It is a member of the Feeding America network.
Second Harvest of Southern Wisconsin sources food at scale and distributes it through partner agencies across 16 counties, supplemented by its own programs and mobile distributions. The Madison area combines a prosperous university-and-government economy with pockets of need, while the surrounding rural counties face distance and limited grocery access, and the food bank covers both from its single Madison hub.
Michelle Orge became President and CEO in 2019, arriving with more than 20 years of leadership at food banks in Colorado and Michigan, including as executive director of Community Food Share near Boulder. She has guided the organization through the pandemic surge and the federal food-program changes that drew the governor to tour its Madison facility in late 2025.
The 16-county service area covers southwestern Wisconsin, anchored by Madison and Dane County. It is a region of contrasts: a strong, growing capital-city economy alongside rural farming counties where food insecurity is quieter but persistent. Demand stayed high after the pandemic and rose again amid 2025 benefit disruptions.
Yes. Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through secondharvestmadison.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Second Harvest of Southern Wisconsin covers the Madison region, while Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin covers the eastern half of the state and Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee County’s independent food bank. For anyone in the Madison area or southwestern Wisconsin, Second Harvest is the lead organization.
Agencies across 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties.
Food brought into rural communities far from pantries.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Help connecting residents to FoodShare and other support.
Sources: Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin website (secondharvestmadison.org), GuideStar (EIN 39-1490691), and Greater Madison Chamber coverage of leadership. We are not affiliated with Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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