In July, the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced funding and eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the next decade. Meanwhile this summer, Kroger announced it would be closing five Pick 'n Save stores in the metro Milwaukee-area, limiting food access for some residents.
“This is going to have a devastating effect” says Valerie MacMillan, executive director of Nourish MKE — a nonprofit that runs four food centers across Milwaukee. The organization also offers nutrition education and onsite health screenings.
“We are gearing up for an increase in folks after the first of the year, as are other food pantries across the city,” she says.
The latest cuts to food assistance continue a downward trend since the pandemic. According to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP spending peaked in 2022 — before declining as pandemic-era benefits expired.
MacMillan says she’s been noticing cuts to food assistance since even before this summer.
“[A year or two ago] we had people who would come into our food centers to get supplemental groceries, and they would tell me that their benefits were reduced to $20 a month,” she says.
Those reductions to SNAP recipients’ food share cards don’t help the local grocery stores either, she argues.
“You might not think that food share benefits are going to impact you,” says MacMillan. “However, if your local corner store closes because they don't have as much income coming in because fewer people are spending their dollars there, that is going to have a direct impact on you.”
But amid overlapping crises, the folks at Nourish MKE are doing what they can, serving folks from all walks of life who face food insecurity.
“We hear that a lot, ‘Oh, I don't want to go and take from somebody else who might need it more,’” she says. “But if you need food, you need food, and we want to make sure that we break down all of the barriers between you and accessing that nutritious food.”
In the nonprofit world, MacMillan says organizations are often competing for funding. But she sees the current moment as one for local food pantries to come together and pool resources.
“There's an opportunity that we're trying to take advantage of right now in building a coalition of food pantries where we can talk to one another and rely on each other right now,” she says.
Additionally, Nourish MKE is hosting Empty Bowls, a “soups and ceramics” festival at MSOE’s Kern Center on Oct. 5. The event will feature handmade bowls, hearty soups and live music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“One hundred percent of these proceeds do support food justice work here in the city,” she says. “They go to our organization, Nourish MKE, and it helps support folks who come in to get a week's worth of free groceries when they come to shop with us.”
Systemic food insecurity runs deep, and MacMillan says things are going to get worse in the coming months. But in the meantime, Nourish MKE is keeping up the fight against hunger and giving hope to those who are struggling in Milwaukee.
“Sometimes it's about providing hope for somebody on one single day and just being kind to somebody one single day when they come through our doors. And it can absolutely change the course of things for people.”
_
