MONROE — Beginning this month, Green County Food Pantry, Inc. is able to offer more Green County households the Grade-A foods provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Green County Food Pantry Inc. is an authorized food distributor in the Emergency Food Assistance Program and can now provide no-cost groceries for households that have incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level. People who have lost jobs or income may obtain a monthly share of American-grown meat, vegetables, fruit, juice and more from a TEFAP food pantry. Before June 1, TEFAP’s qualifying income threshold was 185%.

Enrollment is confidential. The Green County Food Pantry Inc. is located at 1129 17th Ave., Monroe, and is open from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. The pantry will provide food on the day of application, and once a month as long as the household’s income qualifies them to participate. Proof of address and identification are required; proof of income is not.

Households participating in other food programs, such as Food Share, WIC or school nutrition, may also participate in TEFAP without affecting their ability to qualify for those programs.

Wisconsin’s pantry volunteers are providing “no contact” food distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are enrolling households and distributing groceries outdoors to minimize health risks. In many locations, TEFAP applicants and participants remain in their cars for service.

In 2019, Wisconsin’s 265 charitable TEFAP pantries made more than 800,000 monthly food distributions to households in need of food.