Baldwin Secures Funds for Airport & Foodbank

Press Release

Baldwin Secures Funds for Airport & Foodbank

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has secured federal funds to aid the Dane County Regional Airport and the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin in the FY 2008 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations bill passed yesterday by the House of Representatives.

Baldwin secured $400,000 for the Dane County Regional Airport to expand and improve the tarmac around the terminal to keep up with the increased demand for commuter aircraft and replace the de-icing fluids recovery treatment system to keep up with local environmental regulations. The treatment system for the de-icing fluid will prevent the run off from entering Starkweather Creek and ultimately Lake Monona. In FY 2004, Congresswoman Baldwin secured $4 million for airport improvements.

"The Dane County Regional Airport is vital to the continued economic development of South Central Wisconsin. These federal funds will help provide the upgrades to meet current and futures needs," Baldwin said.

"Federal dollars will help our airport grow by expanding overnight parking space for aircraft," said Dane County Regional Airport Director Bradley Livingston. "We're grateful to Congresswoman Baldwin for working to secure this key funding," Livingston said.

Baldwin secured $150,000 for the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin to expand its facility to increase food and distribution capacity. The Foodbank delivers food to the most needy in 16 southern Wisconsin counties.

"The Second Harvest Foodbank benefits families in need; it benefits the communities in which they live; and it gives area businesses a charitable and well-managed outlet for their surplus goods. Community business leaders brought this need to my attention. I'm pleased to have secured this funding to support an important community asset," Baldwin said.

"I thank Congresswoman Baldwin for answering our request for funds for this important community service. The Second Harvest Foodbank is vital in insuring Wisconsin families that have been caught in unfortunate circumstances receive the food they need as they work to put their lives back together," said Dan Schultz, CFO of American Family Insurance and a Second Harvest board member.

The HUD Economic Development Initiative Funds will be used to help renovate the Foodbank's warehouse in Madison from which it serves 400 charitable programs in 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties, including Dane, Columbia, Rock, Jefferson, Sauk, Green, Lafayette, Juneau, Adams, Monroe, Vernon, Richland, Crawford, Dodge, Iowa and Grant. In the Foodbank's first week of operation in 1986, emergency food assistance programs picked up 2,000 pounds of food. Today, donations to the Foodbank provide 25,000 pounds of food supplies per day.

"We are very grateful for the funding and to Rep. Baldwin for her advocacy on behalf of Second Harvest," said Robert Mohelnitzky, Executive Director, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern WI. "This Foodbank expansion project will allow us to continue to increase our efforts to get food to hungry people in Wisconsin, especially rural residents and children. Our volunteers, who are the backbone of our organization, will have the space they need to do their wonderful work. Our 350 non-profit partner agencies, which rely on us daily for food, will have improved access to more and better food and grocery products. And most important, fewer people will be hungry because no one should go to bed hungry, especially a child," Mohelnitzky said.

A T-HUD Appropriations bill is pending in the Senate.

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