Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation Awards Grant to Green Cares Food Pantry

The Green Cares Food Pantry was recently notified of a grant award through the Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation. The Foundation will be providing Green Cares with 720 toothbrushes and toothpaste to be distributed to pantry families, as well as students in the School Districts of Albany, Black Hawk, Juda, Monticello and New Glarus.
The Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation, founded in 1957, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to improving the oral health and overall well-being of Wisconsin residents while supporting the needs of the dental community.
So why is a food pantry interested in dental health? A September 1, 2016 report from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF) indicated a link between student absenteeism and untreated dental decay. RWJF found dental pain accounts for almost two million missed days of school annually within children in the United States. While Green Cares mission is to prevent hunger, the pantry cannot ignore the dental health of those we serve. With the issuance of student toothbrushes and toothpaste at the area schools, students will be made aware of the Fowler Dental Clinic in Monroe, a free dental clinic providing dental services to Green and Lafayette County low income children, age 0–15. Fowler Dental Clinic is located at 411 22nd Avenue, Monroe, and their phone number is (608) 328-9404.
Green Cares Food Pantry, located at W5198 County Road C, Monticello, provides nearly one weeks’ worth of food to low-income households within Green County and also provides weekend foods to students in five area school districts. Green Cares is thankful for this collaboration with the Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation and the Fowler Dental Clinic to improve the dental health of area students and pantry families.