Feed the Need MKE Launches Home Delivery of Food to Vulnerable Populations on Thursday, April 9, 2020

Feed the Need MKE, a collaborative effort led by UniteMKE, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, and Ignite Change, with assistance from Rebel Converting and WestCare WI, and Northwest CDC, will launch its efforts to assemble home food delivery to Milwaukee’s most vulnerable citizens on Thursday, April 9th from 9 am – 1 pm.

In response to the concentration of Covid-19 cases within the predominantly African American northside and based upon the historical racism and segregation, Feed the Need MKE created a community-based solution. Community Health Workers will safely provide food to the city’s most vulnerable residents, many of whom are people of color, with underlying health conditions such as asthma, cardiac issues, diabetes and/or may be pregnant.

On Thursday, April 9, 2020, from 9 am – 1 pm, UniteMKE volunteers and staff will begin assembling food kits for delivery for 100 households in the parking lots of Ephesians Missionary Baptist Church, 2412 N. 6th St., (53212).

Feed The Need Partners:
UniteMKE trains and develops community health workers who provide home visits to help the vulnerable navigate the social determinants of health that include access to care, employment, food and nutrition, housing and transportation.

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin provides wholesome food to families throughout the community via outreach and partnership with food pantries and other nonprofit organizations across the community, including Feed the Need.

Through Feed the Need, these partners and the others on page 2 will leverage resources to deliver wholesome, nutritious food to households in need under the “Safer at Home” guidelines.

At 1pm. The Feed the Need food kits will be loaded into the cars of community health workers to deliver to the vulnerable households they serve.

In the afternoon and throughout the week, community health workers will distribute food kits throughout the community.

Feed the Need aims to increase the number of households reached from 100 during this first week to as many as possible through the course of the pandemic. Food kit assembly and delivery will continue as needed. The initiative will scale up in the coming weeks to in response to this crisis. A website and partner organization network are under way now.

ADDITIONAL PARTNERS:

Rebel Industries is producing 1 million face masks in response to the Covid-19 pandemic with partners Allen Edmonds and 5K Fibres. They have donated 3,500 of these masks to Feed the Need for community health workers and the clients they serve.

Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) serves the economic development needs of Milwaukee’s low-income communities and assists with neighborhood strategic planning to improve safety, land use planning and development for business and workforce development programs. NWSCDC will provide volunteers for this effort.

Ephesians Missionary Baptist Church, 2412 N. 6th St., (53212) will provide a location for Feed the Need kit assembly and distribution.

West Care Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of health and human services and helped secure food for this effort.

Ignite Change is a social cause advertising agency that taps into executive volunteers in the Ad and PR world to generate awareness and support for the transformative social justice work that happens in our communities, and is providing strategic support to this effort.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.