Board Extends Fresh Food Program For Impoverished Families

Fresh food. Pixabay License.

When supervisors voted to close a projected budget gap for this year Thursday, they also managed to save a program that helps impoverished families buy fresh food.

Sup. Anne O’Connor successfully amended a package of funding transfers meant to close the 2024 budget deficit, saving the program in 2025.

In 2022, Milwaukee County provided $1 million for the Milwaukee Market Match. The program, created by Fondy, provides dollar-for-dollar matching funds for families using FoodShare, which is Wisconsin’s branding for the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP), sometimes called food stamps.

The funding came out of the county’s federal allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, a stimulus package responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The county’s ARPA task force agreed assisting Milwaukee’s low-income households with food costs during a time of uncertainty and rising food costs was a worthwhile use of the county’s funding.

The funding was allocated for three years, 2022-2024. At the end of 2024, it’s expected there will still be approximately $300,000 left unspent. It’s also expected that the county will have a budget deficit between $17 and $19 million, which it needs to close.

County officials combed through the 2024 budget to find any funding they could to close the budget gap before the end of the year. Initially, the leftover Milwaukee Market Match funding was part of the equation. Instead of letting the funding roll over for another year, officials planned to use the funding to help close the budget gap.

Taking the rollover funding would have effectively ended the program, according to Jazmin Wong, the Milwaukee Market Match coordinator. The program has lined up state funding for 2026, but it needs the leftover funds to get it through next year, Wong told the county board’s Committee on Finance on Sept. 12.

“This program leads the country and sets an example for having an impactful solution for aiding Food Security and Justice,” Wong said. “A $300,000 reduction would impact our low-income residents most, while groceries remain at an all-time high.”

Since it began as a pilot program in 2020, and then expanded with county funding in 2022, the program has worked with 12 Milwaukee-area farmers markets. In 2024, the program is on track to provide approximately $215,000 in matching funds for purchases of fresh produce, meat and dairy products from local farmers, Wong said.

O’Connor drafted an amendment to the county administration’s budget deficit funding package, zeroing out the use of market match funds and allowing them to roll over for the program in 2025. Keeping the program alive for another year means “literally putting food on families tables,” the supervisor said.

O’Connor found unanimous support on the board for her amendment.

“Expanding the Market Match program ensures that families who rely on SNAP benefits can continue to access fresh, local produce,” O’Connor said in a statement after the vote. “This is about investing in both the health and well-being of our community while supporting local farmers.”

The amendment reduced the amount of funding freed up to address the 2024 deficit. The Comptroller’s Office recently estimated that the actual year-end deficit may be smaller than earlier anticipated.

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