Food & Water

A boil water advisory is in effect for the City of Menasha and the Village of Fox Crossing. Low water pressure after the storm may have let contamination into the system.

To make water safe: bring it to a rolling boil, hold it there for one full minute, then let it cool. Store it covered in a clean container. Bottled water is fine and needs no treatment.

Boil or use bottled water for: drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing produce, preparing food, mixing baby formula, and giving water to pets.

Tap water is fine for: showering and bathing (avoid swallowing it), washing hands with soap, laundry, and dishes if you follow with a sanitising rinse.

Please also use less water. Both communities are drawing from Neenah's system while local plants are down.

Keep boiling until officials say the advisory is lifted — a lifted advisory will be announced publicly, not by a door hanger or a phone call.

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin supplies the pantry network across this region and maintains a searchable directory of member pantries and meal programs.

Pantry hours are shifting daily right now — several are opening outside their normal schedule to meet demand, and a few in the damage path are closed. Call ahead or check the online finder, and if you cannot reach anyone, call 211.

With outages expected to last a while, this matters. The rule that actually counts is temperature, not smell or looks — food can be dangerous and still look and smell completely normal.

• Refrigerator: safe about 4 hours if you keep the door shut
• Full freezer: about 48 hours. Half-full freezer: about 24 hours
• Discard any perishable food — meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, leftovers, cut produce, soft cheese — that has been above 40 °F for more than 2 hours
• Thawed food with ice crystals still visible can be safely refrozen
• Never taste food to decide. When in doubt, throw it out

Take photographs of discarded food before you bin it — many homeowner and renter policies cover food loss, and your adjuster will want the evidence.

Older adults and people with mobility limitations are the group most likely to be missed in the days after a storm — especially with power out and phones dead.

Call 211 to arrange meal delivery or a wellness check. If you are able, please physically check on elderly neighbors; a knock on the door finds people that no hotline will.