County Provides Aid to Local Food Pantries

Grocery store shelves. Photo by Sophie Bolich.

Milwaukee County distributed $150,000 to local food pantries during the holiday season this year.

When the federal government shutdown imperiled the state food assistance program FoodShare this past fall, the Milwaukee County Board pulled the $150,000 from the county’s rainy-day fund to provide food aid locally.

The board voted on the issue just days after FoodShare saw a lapse in funding support from the federal government. The next day, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore food benefits despite the ongoing shutdown, and Gov. Tony Evers responded before the administration could appeal and announced the state would restore benefits.

The county Department of Health and Human Services worked with NourishMKE, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Hunger Task Force to provide support for 13 local food pantries.

“In Milwaukee County, more than 230,000 residents rely on FoodShare, including older adults, children, veterans, people with disabilities, and many more,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement. “Simply put, access to food assistance and nutrition programs is critical to the health and prosperity of Wisconsin working families.”

The county has also partnered with the City of Milwaukee, NourishMKE and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin on a countywide food drive for SNAP recipients.

Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson Bovell, who authored the county board resolution, said it provided funding to “keep families fed during these challenging times.”

The board also passed a resolution declaring “Food Apartheid” a public health emergency. The designation is not intended to be symbolic, but rather to describe how food access, or lack thereof, is a product of public policy.

“This effort recognizes that often food insecurity is rooted in decades of inequity and disinvestment,” Nicholson said.