Milwaukee is launching a city and county-wide food drive ahead of the impending halt of FoodShare benefits on Nov. 1 due to the federal government shutdown.
How to donate
For information on how to volunteer, donate food or money, you can visit the City of Milwaukee’s Food Drive page or Milwaukee County’s Food Assistance page.
What to donate
There are a lot of high demand items at food pantries right now. Nonperishable items are encouraged, including cereals, dinner grains, salt, seasonings, cooking oil. If people have fresh food they want to donate, like meat, eggs, fresh produce or dairy, it's recommended that they connect directly with a pantry partner to take care of refrigeration or they can donate money.
Around 230,000 people in Milwaukee County rely on FoodShare
FoodShare is Wisconsin’s SNAP program, which offers Supplemental Nutritional Assistance. It’s a federally funded program that helps people with low-income jobs or fixed incomes afford food. About 230,000 people in Milwaukee County depend on it.
FoodShare will run out of money if the federal government doesn’t resolve the shutdown.
Local officials gathered at Milwaukee City Hall Tuesday to announce that a community food drive begins immediately. Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services Director Shakita LaGrant-McClain made this call-to-action:
"If you are in the position to make a food donation or to volunteer, we ask that you visit our website, Milwaukee County’s Food Assistance. We'll have donation bins. They'll be located at our courthouse, at our Hillview Building, at our Marcia P Coggs Health and Human Services Center, the King Community Center, and our Kozy Community Center.”
Donations will be accepted across both City and County facilities, including:
- Milwaukee City Hall – 200 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee
- Milwaukee County Courthouse – 901 N. 9th Street, Milwaukee
- Zeidler Municipal Building – 841 N. Broadway, Milwaukee
- Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center – 1230 W. Cherry Street, Milwaukee
- Hillview – 1615 S. 22nd Street, Milwaukee
- Fiserv Forum – 1111 Vel R. Phillips Avenue, Milwaukee
- All Milwaukee Public Schools
- All Milwaukee Police Department districts
- All City of Milwaukee Public Library branches
- Mason Temple Church – 6058 N. 35th Street, Milwaukee
Where to find information if you receive FoodShare
If you’re currently receiving FoodShare benefits, you can visit the FoodShare News page to find other sources of food assistance.
You can also call 2-1-1.
Mason Temple Church Pastor Sean Tatum is among the partners of this Milwaukee food drive. “This is not just a logistical effort, it is a moral one. It is our collective response to hardship, rooted in compassion, dignity, and action,” he says.
While the community can donate to the food drive, the ultimate solution is keeping FoodShare going. That’s according to Josie Strand of Feeding America in eastern Wisconsin.
“We are equipped to handle hard times, but we were never built to replace FoodShare benefits. For every meal we provide, FoodShare provides nine. The federal nutrition programs are absolutely essential to keeping families fed and healthy,” she explains.
Politics that's impacting people
LaGrant-McClain blames President Trump for the federal government shutdown that’s threatening to freeze FoodShare.
“If the administration does not want to provide the services, look at us stepping up and providing the resources. To communities and families across in all of our neighborhoods, and they are coming together to make sure that no child, no older adult, no household goes without food,” she says.
In a memo reportedly from the USDA that has been publicly reported on in recent days, the Trump Administration indicated it would decline to use federal contingency funding and other resources to continue the SNAP program.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has signed on to a lawsuit by 22 states, three governors and the District of Columbia suing the Trump administration. They argue that the decision of the US Department of Agriculture not to use emergency funds to continue SNAP is unlawful.
Republicans and Democrats continue to blame each other for the government shutdown—with Democrats pushing Republicans to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. They say if Republicans don’t, healthcare coverage costs will skyrocket.
