Radio station’s tiny race leads to big donation for La Crosse food bank

When you survive on donations to help tens of thousands of people every month, the big ones really help.

Like the $5,500 check that La Crosse Hunger Task Force just collected from The Rock Foundation after the 95.7 the Rock .01K St. Patrick’s Day this year — a .01-kilometer race down Pearl Street, downtown.

Task Force executive director Shelly Fortner said that’s the kind of fundraising dollars that have a real impact.

“We are unable to do what we’re doing without the help of the community and 95.7 the Rock, and all the people who hold fundraisers like that, are just vital,” she said.

The Rock Foundation is the charitable arm of Mid-West Family Broadcasting’s 95.7 the Rock.

Fortner said it was a big donation for an equally big need in the community, as 2017’s numbers prove.

“We gave out 1.5 million pounds of food through our warehouse to 101 different food programs,” Fortner said. “And they, in turn, are serving, from the numbers we’re collecting, over 60,000 people.”

That’s 60,000 people per month. Most to people who are employed, Fortner said — they’re just working at low-wage jobs that don’t meet the food needs for their families.

Fortner said there is plenty of uses for that money just to keep the food flowing to those in need.
When you’re a food bank delivering in older trucks, and you’ve got freezers that you cross your fingers will keep running, big donations come as a big relief.

“We are looking, all the time, to maintain those freezer and cooler units — keep the trucks up and running and in good condition — so that we can maintain that safety for our donors and our clients,” she said.