Middleton Meals Matter, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting food insecurity led by Middleton High School students, collected about 58,000 pounds of food valued at more than $100,000 for WayForward Resources and Second Harvest Food Bank in its first year.
“Young people can lead change,” said Rohan Dileep, the organization's co-president and a Middleton High School rising senior. “We started as just high schoolers with an idea, and now we’re building a network of chapters across Wisconsin and beyond.”
In the past year, Middleton Meals Matter leaders worked with students at six Dane County high schools – Waunakee High School, Edgewood High School, Val Phillips Memorial High School, Madison West High School, Sun Prairie East High School and Sun Prairie West High School – to establish chapters at each school. Dileep said more chapters are in the works.
“We are already looking ahead to expanding into neighboring states such as Minnesota and Illinois,” he said. “This is just the beginning of a movement to ensure that no family, no matter where they live, has to face hunger alone.”
In addition to expanding to more schools, Middleton Meals Matter leaders have visited each MCPASD elementary and middle school to encourage younger students to get involved.
“We organized the Week Against Hunger initiative, which ran food drives across multiple elementary schools in our District,” Dileep said. “We also held our Halloween for Hunger and Summer Stock-Up events, where we distributed slips and paper bags to households in neighborhoods like Blackhawk, Middleton Hills, and parts of Verona, then collected donations right from their doorsteps.”
Dileep said the group is excited to involve more MCPASD students in food drives in the year ahead as well as to continue building relationships with local and state leaders.
“Last fall, 
Noah Duckett, Wyatt Ehrhardt and I met with former Middleton High School alum and current State Representative Alex Joers to discuss potential legislative solutions to combat food insecurity,” Dileep said. “We also had the privilege of joining the Hunger Has No Home Here roundtable, where we spoke alongside our amazing superintendent, Dr. Dana Monogue, about the urgent need for action in our community.”
Middleton Meals Matter’s efforts have earned recognition, including winning a $3,000 grant from By Youth, For Youth.
For the 2025-2026 school year, Dileep said collecting more food is only part of the group’s mission: “We’re also seeking new opportunities to connect with people and spread awareness. Raising awareness is just as crucial as raising food in the fight against food insecurity.”
Middleton Meals Matter’s leaders for the 2025-2026 school year include the following students:
Senior Rohan Dileep, Co-President
Senior Beatrice Norman, Co-President
Senior Luke Weiss, Volunteer Coordinator
Senior Inyiaan Karthikeyan, Treasurer and Secretary
Junior Brooke Lister, Social Media and Outreach Coordinator
Junior Ziva Gibson, Junior Representative
Sophomore Eli Ehrhardt, Sophomore Representative
Sophomore Luke Strasia, Director of Chapter Sustainability
Follow Middleton Meals Matter on Instagram to learn more about upcoming food drives and other events as well as how you can support their work.