WISCONSIN RAPIDS – After working for the last eight months on promoting food accessibility at a local level, Gianna Peters is ready to take it to the state level.
Peters was named Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen 2026 at the local competition Oct. 25, 2025. The following week, she told a Daily Tribune reporter she wanted to tell the community it’s OK to need and ask for help, and there’s nothing wrong with being vulnerable.
She has spent the last eight months promoting that message through the Wisconsin Rapids community and preparing for the Miss Wisconsin’s Teen competition.
In the Miss Wisconsin Rapids Scholarship Organization, part of the Miss America Organization, each contestant at the Miss Wisconsin Rapids and Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen levels chooses a topic important to her to promote as her community service initiative. Contestants promote their initiatives during competition, throughout their year of service and on the Miss Wisconsin stage.
Peters wanted to focus on food accessibility, and in her first eight months as a local titleholder, she has already made a local impact.
Before the Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen competition, Peters had already started volunteering with her grandmother at The Neighborhood Table, now part of Feeding Our Communities with United Services. FOCUS is a local organization that combined The Neighborhood Table, the South Wood Emerging Pantry Shelf and Rapids Family Backpacks to provide stronger and more convenient help to address food insecurity.
Now, as Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen, Peters was invited and has joined the FOCUS Board of Directors to help with social media and marketing for the organization.
Peters has also spent her time talking with people throughout the Wisconsin Rapids community, opening their eyes to the issue of hunger and how everyone is able to help.
“It’s a big issue, but we can put our minds and efforts together to make a difference,” Peters said.
While she has been working to make an impact in local hunger, Peters said she is excited to be able to take her efforts to a state level and make an even bigger impact on hunger and address food accessibility throughout the state. She said she wants to help improve the state statistics when it comes to food insecurity.
How Gianna Peters has promoted food accessibility as Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen 2026
Outside of her work to promote food accessibility in the Wisconsin Rapids area, Peters has spent her first eight months as Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen learning more about the area and attending community events.
She said she has enjoyed working with Miss Wisconsin Rapids 2026, Madison Graf, and attending events together. Peters said she’s learned a lot about the different businesses in the Wisconsin Rapids area, as Graf’s community service initiative, “Look Local First,” focuses on local businesses.
Peters said she also has had a chance to attend more events and visit more places as a local titleholder. While her favorite event so far has been the South Wood County YMCA’s Father Daughter Dance, she also enjoyed exploring places new to her, including the South Wood County Historical Museum, where she recently attended a tea party.
How Gianna Peters is preparing for the 2026 Miss Wisconsin’s Teen competition
Peters has spent the last few months preparing for the Miss Wisconsin’s Teen stage. She has been practicing her talent performance, singing “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from “Grease,” and she has been working through mock interviews with the help of a variety of friends and family.
While Peters is nervous for competition, she feels ready. She worked to get into a good mindset for performing, and she already loves being on stage.
“I know I’m ready,” Peters said. “I feel good and I have people cheering me on.”
Throughout her experience as Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen and as she prepares for the statewide stage, Peters said she’s learned she is capable of whatever she puts her mind to and is able to make an impact on both local and state levels.
“My voice matters, and I want to empower others,” she said.
As Peters focuses on promoting her community service initiative, she’s also excited to meet the other local teen titleholders, strengthen those friendships and learn more about what they’re passionate about and how they have been making a difference in their communities.
Miss Wisconsin’s Teen 2026 competition details, date and location
Peters is one of 23 teens competing for the Miss Wisconsin’s Teen title. The Miss Wisconsin’s Teen final competition will start at 6 p.m. June 19 at the West Performing Arts Center, 18695 W. Cleveland Road in New Berlin.
For more information or to purchase tickets to watch the competition in person or online through the livestream, visit misswisconsin.org.
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@usatodayco.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Gianna Peters aims to fight hunger on Miss Wisconsin’s Teen stage
Reporting by Caitlin Shuda, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Caitlin Shuda, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune | USA TODAY Network
