Author: Joan Koehne

Hope Center Pantry Volunteer Hannah Eichhorn and her boyfriend

Hannah Eichhorn: Serving the Community as Pantry Volunteer

Joan Koehne

Hello! My name is Hannah, and I’ve been volunteering at Hope Center Pantry for about a year and a half now. I was born and raised in Upper Michigan but have lived in Green Bay for the past six years. I love being down here, but still frequently get to the UP to catch up with my family. I am the seventh of nine children, and have 20+ nieces and nephews, so there is always something fun going on!

I work as an RN at Bellin Health Endocrinology Clinic. When I’m not at work, I’m somewhere between the UP and Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where my boyfriend, Chad, lives, usually finding some trails to hike or bike on in my free time. Chad has a basset hound, Bubba, who loves to lead the way for us on the trails. I will never get sick of living in such a beautiful area, especially so close to Lake Michigan, with so many hidden gems to explore.

I am very thankful for my time so far at the Hope Center Pantry. Every person I’ve met there has truly been a pleasure to get to know, and serve alongside. I look forward to continuing to help serve our community through this very special place.

Time to Party! Green Bay Catholic Youth Fill Birthday Bags

Joan Koehne
birthday bags filled by Catholic youth for Hope Center Pantry

In recent years, Hope Center Pantry has benefited from the generosity of youth. We provide opportunities for teens to volunteer, manage the pantry’s social media, and earn high school community service hours. Here is yet another superb example of our local youth doing great things. Hope Center Pantry received 20 birthday bags for boys ages 6-10. Hope Center Pantry was in dire need of birthday bags for this age range, so the timing was perfect!

Birthday Cake, Candles, Toys

Each birthday bag was thoughtfully filled with a box of cake mix, a can of frosting, a pack of birthday candles, a box of theatre-sized candy, two matchbox cars, and another toy. Now can’t you just picture the joy these bags will give each boy who receives one? This gesture surely made God smile!

Catholic Churches Partner with Pantry

Students in the Confirmation class at Nativity of Our Lord Church, Green Bay, Wisconsin, filled the bags. Nativity Catholic Church is one of six West Side Green Bay Catholic parishes that supports Hope Center Pantry. The other Catholic churches are Annunciation, St. Agnes, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Joseph, St. Jude, and St. Patrick. These faith communities work together to help break the cycle of poverty in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Thank you for giving back to the community, helping others, and brightening kids’ birthdays.

Domino Effect: Students Donate 910 Boxes of Cereal

Joan Koehne
Students Donate Cereal boxes and arrange them like dominoes in the gym

How do you get elementary school children pumped up during the cold winter months? The school counselor at Jackson Elementary School in Green Bay came up with a fantastic idea. How about hosting a cereal dominoes challenge? For several weeks, the children were encouraged to bring in boxes of cereal. The classroom that collected the most boxes of cereal would be rewarded with a pizza party!

Collecting Cereal Boxes for Local Pantries

A large portion of the cereal collected would be donated to their school pantry, Hunger Heroes Jaguar Den. Anything extra would be allocated to a few local food pantries. Just this little seed of an idea created so much buzz among the students and faculty. The good that came out of it exceeded everyone’s expectations: 910 boxes of cereal were collected!

Students Cheer as the Dominos Fall

The competition was fierce, and the classroom that won the pizza party tipped the count by only six boxes on the final day. Hope Center Pantry visited Jackson Elementary School on March 6, 2024, to witness the event live. Boxes of cereal were lined up in elaborate designs, domino-style, starting in the gym. The cereal boxes snaked down hallways throughout the school. It was breathtaking to watch the dominos fall. But mostly, we enjoyed watching the expressions on the faces of the kids. They were beyond excited as they stood or sat respectfully along the hallways and cheered on the falling cereal boxes.

Contact Us to Organize a Food Drive

The Hope Center Pantry was one of the fortunate pantries that received 200 boxes of cereal from the challenge. Some of the students willingly helped haul our cereal to our vehicle. What a fun way to run a food drive. We commend Jackson Elementary School for its innovative domino-style food drive and thank all of the donors, also. The families we serve now have breakfast on the table, thanks to you. To organize a food drive at your school, business or community event, contact us for information.

Family Radio Sponsors Help for the Homeless

Joan Koehne
Family Radio sponsors Help for the Homeless personal hygiene drive

Every year, Family Radio sponsors a “Help for the Homeless” hygiene drive. This year, Hope Center Pantry participated in the drive for the first time. Our Pantry gives hygiene products to our clients, and now we have more toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other personal hygiene items available.

Donations Go to 121 Crisis Programs

Many businesses and churches participated in Help for the Homeless. Family Radio broadcasts to 20 Wisconsin communities in the radio station’s listening areas. The drive began Feb. 11 and ended March 3. In total, Family Radio collected over $604,000 worth of hygiene products and cleaning supplies. These donations went to 121 crisis programs in 20 communities across Wisconsin.

Pantry Benefits from Help for the Homeless

The Hope Center Pantry was one of 24 local crisis programs in Brown County to receive the donations from Help for the Homeless. On March 7, each program sent three volunteers to Green Bay Community Church. The volunteers sorted, counted and distributed 37,987 donated items that were valued at $101,823.22.

Contact Us to Organize a Personal Hygiene Drive

We were awestruck by the generous outpouring of support from Brown County residents. Hope Center Pantry clients are so fortunate to have such great quality hygiene items available to them. Thanks, Family Radio! Contact us to learn how to organize a personal hygiene drive at your business or nonprofit.

Feeding America of Northeast Wis. Spreads Easter Cheer

Joan Koehne
Easter hams donated by Feeding America to Hope Center Pantry


Look what the Easter Bunny left at Hope Center Pantry! Hope Center Pantry received an assortment of Easter hams from Feeding America of Northeast Wisconsin. The smaller hams are 4 pounds. These will be offered to Hope Center Pantry clients that have 2-4 people in their household. The larger hams are 8 pounds. These will be offered to Hope Center Pantry clients that have 5 or more people in their household.

Not only will these hams be the centerpiece of Easter dinner, but the ‘planned overs’ (‘left overs’ has such a negative connotation) can be used for delicious casseroles and scrumptious soups. Now that is what we call a win/win … all thanks to Feeding America!

Green Bay Packaging Donates 4,800 Boxes

Joan Koehne
Volunteers unload boxes from Green Bay Packaging donation

Green Bay Packaging is our hometown hero! Thanks to the kindness of Green Bay Packaging, Hope Center Pantry received eight bales of boxes on Feb. 2, 2024. These will be used to package up the food items for our Small, Large and X-Large client families. That equates to about 4,800 boxes which should accommodate Hope Center Pantry for about 16 months.

Volunteers Unite for Swift Unloading

These boxes get stored off-site in a spare room on the third floor at the old Annunciation school. We had a total of seven smiling volunteers lined up to help unload these boxes off of a truck, load them onto flatbed cart, and use the elevator to get them up to the storage room. It only took an hour to get this all accomplished. It was a big job but embodies the proverb that many hands make light work.

Green Bay Packaging Boxes for Food Donations

These boxes will be so helpful for Hope Center Pantry to package food donations. Thanks to Green Bay Packaging for supporting our mission, to serve and guide those who are in need, empower and support others.

Women’s Club Warms Our Hearts with Donations

Joan Koehne
Brown County Community Women's Club donation to Hope Center Pantry

We had a mild winter in Wisconsin in 2023-2024, but on January 17, 2024, temperatures were below zero, and it was freezing cold. But that didn’t stop Lois Mauermann and Terri Lewis from the Brown County Community Women’s Club, Inc. (BCCWC). They filled up their vehicles and delivered food donations of one large box and 41 bags to Hope Center Pantry. Plus, they also donated 17 birthday bags and $45 cash.

You might wonder what the source was of so many amazing items. They had about 100 very generous ladies attend their January 2024 Women’s Club monthly meeting where they ran a food drive on behalf of the Hope Center Pantry. Prior to the meeting, they shared the Pantry’s Wish List. We have deep gratitude for this substantial donation and what it means to our Pantry clients!

Contact us to learn how to host a food drive for your nonprofit organization or business.

Stories of Resilience & Compassion: Hope Center Pantry’s Impact

Joan Koehne
Box of food at Hope Center food pantry

In early January we had two pantry clients that were in dire need of food for their families. They are neighbors. They did not have a vehicle available. So, they walked to Hope Center Pantry. One of them pushed a bike. We typically distribute the client orders in boxes. However, that wouldn’t work in their case. We save used canvas bags just for this purpose.

Rolling Their Food Donations Home

These two clients quickly emptied their boxes into the canvas bags. They were able to drape them over the bike handles which greatly eased their load walking home. They didn’t need to leave any food behind. Their smiles and gratitude were priceless.

Single Mom of 6 Receives Free Food & Rent Subsidy

Then, later that same week, a new client arrived at Hope Center Pantry. She was a single mom with six children. She faced eviction from her apartment as her wages weren’t able to cover the rent. St. Vincent DePaul stepped up to help subsidize her rent and brought her to Hope Center Pantry to get food for her family. She was elated at all that she received.

Food Pantry Thanks Donors & Volunteers

We like to think that on those cold winter days, the clients that came to Hope Center Pantry are warmed by the outreach that wouldn’t happen without the generosity of our donors and volunteers. View a Wish List of food donations the pantry needs, and contact us to learn about volunteer opportunities.

Food Insecurity Grows: Pantry Aids 818 New Clients in 2023

Joan Koehne
pantry volunteers help ease food insecurity at Hope Center Pantry

Food insecurity continues to be an issue for many people in Northeast Wisconsin. In 2023, Hope Center Pantry saw an increase in the number of clients visiting the food pantry to receive free food. Hope Center Pantry registered 818 new clients in 2023. This was 300 more clients than 2022. In 2023, Hope Center Pantry served between 370 and 590 clients a month. These clients represented 1,400 to 2,300 family members. That is a lot of mouths to feed!

93 Pantry Volunteers Feed the Hungry in 2023

Food pantry volunteers make it their mission to do good and help others. In 2023, 93 volunteers helped Hope Center Pantry feed the hungry. Volunteers sorted food donations, registered clients, packed boxes, picked up food from Feeding America, entered data in the database, and performed other volunteer duties.

Help Us Combat Food Insecurity: Donate or Volunteer

Hope Center Pantry, 505 Clinton St., Green Bay, is open from 1-3pm Monday through Thursday. We serve the hungry in Greater Green Bay and Brown County, Wisconsin. Join us on our mission. Donate or volunteer today! Contact us to learn more.

Hope Center Pantry Spreads Holiday Cheer to Homeless

Joan Koehne

Hope Center Pantry brightened the holidays for 33 homeless families on Dec. 2. The pantry partnered with St. Vincent de Paul, Green Bay, and the Green Bay Packers to host the second annual “Believe” event at St. Agnes.

One hundred children and 66 adults experiencing homelessness attended the holiday event. They enjoyed a turkey dinner, music, and a visit by Green Bay Packers player Jon Runyon. Jon showed everyone the cleats that he wore in a game to show his support of St. Vincent DePaul. The bright blue shoes feature the words SVDP Green Bay, Help Us Help Others and the St. Vincent de Paul logo. Jon participates in the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats initiative, and the cleats show his commitment to St. Vincent de Paul and the homeless they serve. My Cause My Cleats allows players to show their dedication to a cause that’s important to them.

Each family who attended “Believe” received wrapped gifts. Additionally, Hope Center Pantry supplied bags of food to hand out to families. It’s amazing what difference organizations can make when they work together! Hope Center Pantry partners with St. Vincent de Paul and the Green Bay Packers for various initiatives. To get involved at Hope Center, contact us about volunteer opportunities.