Hunger Fighter in Action: Lana Raffensperger
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Photo: Sisters in turkey hats - Hollie Nairns (Lana's sister) on left and Lana on right
Lana Raffensperger is a dedicated Hunger Fighter whose childhood experience with hunger inspired a lifelong passion to help people who do not have enough food. Among the many ways she volunteers to help her community, for the past ten years she has been responsible for gathering volunteers for Second Harvest Southern Wisconsin’s monthly mobile pantry in Beaver Dam.
When Lana was a young child, her father hunted all kinds of small game to supplement what they grew in a small garden. After he passed away, Lana’s mother and her eight siblings depended on food distributed by the government, such as cheese and powdered milk and eggs, and what they could buy with food stamps. She remembers times when there was not enough to feed her large family. Lana married and her situation changed, but she has never forgotten what it was like to be food insecure and she has tirelessly helped others have food ever since, both as a volunteer and when she managed restaurants for fifteen years and never turned away anyone hungry.