badger prairie needs network

What badger prairie needs network does

Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit food pantry founded in 1986 in Verona, Wisconsin, and serving food-insecure residents throughout Dane County. The organization's core offering is a grocery-style food pantry at 1200 E. Verona Avenue where guests select fresh dairy, produce, and meat based on family needs; in 2025 it served 100,000 individuals and distributed 2 million pounds of food, filling 24% of Dane County's meal gap. BPNN also operates the Prairie Kitchen, a licensed commercial-grade culinary facility serving hot lunches for 200 people and functioning as an incubator for food-based businesses, alongside the Kitchen-to-Table food recovery program that diverts 250 tons of food from landfill each year, the Kasieta Center for community meals, job training, and event rentals, and free legal advocacy, career development, and on-site social worker services through Joining Forces for Families.

Operationally, BPNN runs on a 100% volunteer model with no paid staff, relying on 1,000-1,100 volunteers contributing nearly 50,000 hours annually (equivalent to 25 FTEs). Its underlying infrastructure is anchored by a 7,500 SF facility leased from Dane County at $20/year for 25 years, with major capital expansions (Big Chill, Kasieta Center, Last Build) financed through capital campaigns and Dane County COVID recovery funds. All core services are free to recipients; commercial kitchen rentals (currently at full capacity) and Kasieta Center event rentals provide modest self-generated revenue, while the operating base is sustained by individual and corporate donations, government grants, and community fundraising events such as Flags4Food.

BPNN's service population is concentrated among children, seniors, people with disabilities, and people of color, with over 80% of households served having at least one working adult, over 40% being children or seniors, and 60%+ of guests having Spanish as their native language. The organization has historically partnered with Salem United Church of Christ, St. James Lutheran and St. Andrew's Catholic parishes, Madison Metropolitan School District, regional workforce development organizations, the Wisconsin Food Recovery Network, and the United Way of Dane County to extend reach and program scope.

Name

badger prairie needs network

Legal name

Badger Prairie Needs Network

Website

https://bpnn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Badger Prairie Needs Network is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) food pantry founded in 1986 in Verona, Wisconsin, serving 100,000 food-insecure individuals annually across Dane County through a grocery-style pantry, the Prairie Kitchen commercial facility, food recovery, and career development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Assistance Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food pantry services
• Hunger relief programs
• Food recovery services
• Community meal programs
• Nonprofit charitable services

Headquarters

HQ city

Verona

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and Corporate Donations: BPNN relies on charitable donations from individuals and corporations to fund operations, food procurement, and programs.
2. Government Grants and Support: The organization receives support from government entities including Dane County, which provides facility space at reduced cost ($20/year lease for 25 years) and COVID recovery funds for facility construction.
3. Commercial Kitchen Rentals: The Prairie Kitchen is available for rent by caterers, food entrepreneurs, and food producers for recurring use, generating rental income.
4. Room/Event Space Rentals: The Kasieta Center is available for meeting and event space rentals.
5. Fundraising Events: The organization conducts fundraising campaigns and events including food drives and annual campaigns like Flags4Food.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Badger Prairie Needs Network operates a grocery-style food pantry serving food-insecure households in Dane County, Wisconsin, offering fresh dairy, produce, and meat. The organization supplements its core pantry with free community meals, a commercial-grade culinary facility (Prairie Kitchen), and a Kitchen-to-Table food recovery program that redistributes surplus food. It also provides career development, legal advocacy, on-site social workers, and rents its commercial kitchen and event space.

Product overview

Badger Prairie Needs Network is a 100% volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit food pantry and hunger relief organization operating since 1986. The organization provides a unified suite of services centered around fighting poverty and ending local hunger, comprising a grocery-style food pantry, free community meals, the Prairie Kitchen commercial culinary facility, and food recovery programs. Additional services include legal advocacy, career development, and facility rentals. The core offering is the food pantry supplemented by community meals and food recovery, with the Prairie Kitchen serving as a multi-purpose facility for nutrition education, community meals, and food-based business incubation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prairie Kitchen: A licensed, commercial-grade culinary teaching facility and restaurant serving hot lunches for 200 people, nutrition education, community meals, and food recovery operations. Also serves as a shared kitchen for commercial food production.
• Kitchen-to-Table Food Recovery
• Kasieta Center

Products and services

• Food Pantry
• Community Meal
• Prairie Kitchen
• Kitchen-to-Table Food Recovery A food recovery program that collects perishable and non-perishable foods prepared for the public but never served, repackages them through the Prairie Kitchen, and redistributes to maximize community reach while diverting food from landfills.
• Kasieta Center Meeting and Event Space A multi-purpose facility available for rent to community groups and organizations for meetings, events, community meals, job training, and career development activities.
• Commercial Kitchen Rentals Licensed commercial kitchen available for rent to caterers, food entrepreneurs, and food producers for recurring use; fully inspected for production of food products for resale. Currently operating at full capacity.
• Legal Advocacy Free legal advocacy services focused on ending homelessness and leveling the playing field for people with limited financial means.
• Career Development Job training and career development opportunities offered through partnerships with regional workforce development organizations, targeting family-sustaining living-wage jobs with career advancement pathways.
• Cooking Clubs Nutrition education programming offered in partnership with community organizations to improve health and wellness outcomes for participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000 individuals served with food assistance in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• Regional Workforce Development OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022BPNN established partnerships with regional workforce development organizations to offer job training in fields offering family-sustaining living-wage jobs with career advancement opportunity. Focus is on changing the economic trajectory of participants.
• Madison Metropolitan School DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Service area expanded into Madison Metropolitan School District in 2018-2020.
• Wisconsin Food Recovery Network (Kitchen to Table)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Launched Kitchen To Table: Wisconsin Food Recovery Network to redistribute food recovered from local cafeterias, reducing food waste and feeding community members.
• Dane CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Dane County Executive and County Board agreed to lease a County-owned 7,500 SF facility at 1200 E. Verona Avenue for $20/year for 25 years. Additional support through COVID recovery funds for facility construction including the Kasieta Center.
• St. James Lutheran and Saint Andrew's Catholic ParishesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Faith community leaders established shared support for the pantry, expanding service area to include all households in the Verona Area School District.
• Joining Forces for FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-site social workers from Joining Forces for Families provide support services to BPNN guests and families.
• Salem United Church of ChristminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership - the organization began as a small closet pantry at Salem United Church of Christ in 1986.
• United Way of Dane CountymoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized as a UWDC Proud Partner, indicating collaborative relationship for community impact.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Hunger Task Force: Milwaukee-based food bank and anti-hunger organization with similar food pantry, farm-to-pantry, and meal programs. Operates in a different Wisconsin geography but follows the same hunger-relief and food recovery model as BPNN.

Direct peers

• The Road Home Dane County: Dane County-based nonprofit providing shelter, meals, and case management for families experiencing homelessness. Closest peer to BPNN's multi-program, holistic approach to poverty alleviation in the same service area.
• St. Vincent de Paul of Madison: Faith-based food pantry and thrift-store network providing food assistance in Dane County. Direct comparable for volunteer-driven food pantry operations and donation-based funding.
• Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin: Dane County-based anti-poverty nonprofit providing food assistance alongside housing, energy, and workforce programs. Most directly comparable to BPNN's holistic poverty-fighting model within the same service area.
• Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin: Regional food bank serving the same Dane County/Wisconsin footprint as BPNN, distributing food to a network of pantries and meal programs. Operates at a larger scale with paid staff, making it a direct comparable for food distribution volume and funding dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National umbrella network of 200+ food banks including Second Harvest, of which BPNN could be a partner/affiliate. Provides the macro-level ecosystem framing for BPNN's pantry work.
• Catholic Charities of Madison: Multi-service social services organization in Dane County providing food assistance, housing, and case management alongside other programs. Comparable scale and breadth of social services.

Emerging players

• Food Recovery Network: National nonprofit focused on food waste recovery and redistribution to communities in need. Directly comparable to BPNN's Kitchen-to-Table food recovery program, though operating at scale across college campuses.

Others

• United Way of Dane County: BPNN's recognized partner and a major funder/distributor of donations to Dane County social services. Comparable as an ecosystem player rather than direct competitor.
• Dane County Department of Human Services: Government counterpart providing emergency assistance, food benefits, and case management. BPNN's Joint Forces for Families partnership channels government services through BPNN's pantry.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BadgerPrairieNeedsNetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/badger-prairie-needs-network

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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