40 Years and Forward

Since 1982, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has been helping our neighbors in need. As Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin celebrates 40 years as a food bank, we are honoring our past and inspiring our future. From our humble beginnings of a first donation of 600 pounds of apples, to distributing more than 53 million pounds of food in a year during the pandemic, we are helping those who face hunger move forward.

Over 40 years ago, Dr. Milton J. Huber, a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, saw a problem and sought the Rotary Club for help. He noticed that overproduction and the overstocking of multi-department supermarkets in order to meet consumer expectations led to a rapid increase in wasted food.

Huber suggested to Rotarians Price Davis and Art Riemer, that the Milwaukee Rotary Club would be the perfect group to spearhead a food banking system to save surplus food and deliver it to people facing hunger in their city. A local grower provided their first donation—600 pounds of apples. Those apples laid the foundation for what has led to years of hunger relief work, reaching far beyond neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Today, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the leading local hunger-relief organization in the state. The organization operates food banks in Milwaukee and Appleton, and receives food from retailers, wholesalers, farmers, federal programs and other donors. The food is transported, sorted, and stored at each food bank before it is distributed to nearly 400 pantries and meal programs across 35 – Eastern Wisconsin counties.

Protecting people’s livelihood has become more crucial than ever, especially as we recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic. While on the verge of a recession, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin continues to remove barriers between people and food. For example, our outreach specialists connect food insecure neighbors with FoodShare and other vital resources they need to keep their families fed and healthy.

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin also looks at the bigger picture of hunger, investing in advocacy and policy efforts. Working with lawmakers to support legislative solutions to end hunger is a critical part of our work.

It’s important to also inform the public on the reality of hunger – anyone can experience it. We are all one diagnosis, job layoff, or car accident away from needing a little extra help. Through our network of retailers, donors, volunteers, food pantries, and people just like you, food has been getting into the hands of people who need it for nearly 40 years. That is why Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin believes that together, we are solving hunger.