With the statewide school closings, Moraine Park Technical College Culinary Arts Department found itself with pounds of fruits, vegetables and cheeses that would not be used as planned. However, this also presented an opportunity to reach out to the community.

Associate Dean of Trades, Steve Horvath, organized Culinary Arts staff to clear out the coolers. Together they were able to package the abundant and healthful product for distribution through the Fondy Food Pantry and the Broken Bread program at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac.

Both organizations were very grateful for the donations and Culinary Arts is grateful that the food programs saved the food from being a total loss.

This donation, is just one way that Moraine Park is working to help during the COVID-19 outbreak. The College also donated over 37,000 items to local healthcare facilities.

Stay up to date on Moraine Park’s COVID-19 updates, at morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

As we see so often during difficult times, people always find ways to keep a light shining by helping others.

Such is the case at Moraine Park Technical College. With the coronavirus continuing its grip on local communities, our nation and the world, the College is doing what they can to help.

Nearly 37,000 healthcare and safety-related supplies, including N-95 masks; disposable gloves and gowns; surgical gowns, hats and shoe covers; face shields and more, were collected from each of the College’s campuses – Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend – and have been donated to local healthcare facilities in those communities including Marshfield Medical Center (formerly Beaver Dam Community Hospital), Froedtert and SSM/St. Agnes.

The healthcare supplies came from several of the College’s more than 60-plus programs, including:  Associate Degree Nursing, Nursing Assistant, Respiratory Therapy, Surgical Technologist, EMS and Cosmetology.

The College is also loaning respirators SSM/St. Agnes according to Barb Jascor, Moraine Park’s dean of health and human services.

“In addition to the need for healthcare and safety supplies, we were also seeing an ever-increasing need for ventilators,” said Jascor. “We wanted to do what we could to help and it made sense to loan our ventilators in advance, as a precautionary measure, should the local need for ventilators surpass current capacity of our community health care partners.”

For COVID-19 updates at Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/coronavirus.