By Becca Carpenter
The River Food Pantry
The River Food Pantry has raised over $11,000,000 to construct a new, larger, purpose-built facility on Madison’s Northside to serve the rising number of people who rely on the pantry for healthy, nutritious groceries and meals.
By Rita Lord
Northside News
Brian Counselman, a teacher and project-based learning coordinator at Shabazz High School, was recently named a Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. A surprise assembly was held April 30 at Shabazz, where State Superintendent Jill Underly presented the award.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website, since 1956 only four other teachers from the Madison School District have received this award.
By Anita Weier
Northside News
The Northside has a new leader for the North Police District, but he is far from new to the district. Captain Jamar Gary grew up on the Northside and graduated from East High School. He took over the leadership of the district following the retirement of Captain Kelly Donahue, who welcomed him heartily as a fellow Purgolder.
He and his wife, who is an attorney, and their 14-yeer-old twins now live in the Town of Burke, quite near his worksite.
Gary, 45, started out with the Madison Police Department in the summer of 2001 as an intern in the Budget Office. “I was mentored by [former Chief] Noble Wray. Once hired, I went through the Police Academy, and in May 2002 I became a patrol officer,” he recalled. “I worked downtown and in the East District on patrol, and then went into the Criminal Intelligence Unit. I was in patrol for six years and then was in CIS for two years. I did investigative support — monitoring robberies and trying to identify patterns and then ID suspects.”
Greetings Northsiders!
Since becoming Board Chair of the Northside Planning Council, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more and more about the Northside of Madison. I recently participated in a tour of Feed Kitchens organized for the Madison-Kanifing Sister City from the Gambia. It was interesting to witness the impact that NPC’s Food Operations Programs such as Feed Kitchens is having not only locally, but abroad.
As the calendar quickly turns from spring to summer, FEED Kitchens, for the 11th year, is gearing up for a busy season supplying our region with flavors from around the world with ingredients sourced locally and food made right here on the Northside of Madison. With food carts and trailers filling the parking lot surrounding FEED, it is easy to mistake the facility as only a space for food cart production, but they are only part of what happens here.