Raised in inner-city Milwaukee in a close-knit family of eleven brothers and sisters, investor and developer Maurice ‘Moe’ Wince grew up with both food insecurity and housing insecurity. “Our parents were recipients of AFDC, food stamps, and several other federal government assistance programs. With eleven children to feed, there was never enough.”

Now, as a real estate investor and landlord, Moe and his wife, Yashica, own an astounding nine of the houses from which his family had been evicted from while growing up.

A University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Moe began his career as a homeless case manager at Healthcare for the Homeless, a Milwaukee nonprofit organization dedicated to housing individuals with chronic mental illness. In working with landlords and city officials, he realized he could “make a greater and stronger impact by housing the individuals that the organization was having the most trouble placing,” Moe said. That’s when he purchased several rental properties and later expanded into owning a few businesses.

After civil unrest following the tragic 2016 shooting death of Sylville Smith by a Milwaukee police officer, Moe’s church, which is now The Embassy Center MKE, launched listening sessions and town hall meetings to address gaps in basic needs in the neighborhood to help improve the quality of life for residents.

“We found pain points – the people had needs that were not being addressed,” Moe said. That included housing, food insecurity, economic development, entrepreneurship, access to healthcare, and more. “So we led the charge in trying to transform the community.”

As a direct result of feedback from the town hall meetings, Embassy’s Bishop, Walter Harvey, launched the nonprofit Prism Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which opened the UpStart 24-hour commercial kitchen in one of Moe’s buildings.

This innovative space now hosts up to 27 culinary artists while they refine their craft and pursue a place of their own.

Additionally, it was clear the community needed a grocery store. Sherman Park’s 40,000 residents were experiencing high percentages of childhood obesity, diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, and high childhood lead levels. And with few options nearby, some residents were relying on purchasing most of their food from two nearby gas stations.

In July 2022, Moe opened the Sherman Park Grocery Store in one of his buildings. “We wanted to combat all those health ailments by taking over and transforming this retail spot into a fresh food access, full-scale grocery store.”

At about the same time, Moe’s local alderman pointed him to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s Food Leaders Lab, a leadership and advocacy program that empowers participants to create goals around solving hunger, develop relationships with elected officials, and build advocacy skills. Moe’s participation in the
Food Leaders Lab Program helped facilitate the successful opening of the store and its connected programs, which has created a local economic ecosystem.

As a result, Sherman Park Grocery Store and Prism EDC collaborated to launch the Cultivate program, through which high school students are paid to grow and sell kale, spinach, and table herbs within 14 hydroponic gardening pods from Fork Farms. The store also sells baked goods made by the culinary artists at UpStart, as well as from others within the community.

“We are not just in the community, but we’ve become a part of the very community that we’re existing in,” said Moe, who also opened a laundromat, a multipurpose Community Impact Center – where the culinary artists from UpStart can host events – and a dance studio.

Moe has since shared his story with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and has advocated for additional support and funding for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s Food Leaders Lab Program. With 13 additional food deserts in the city of Milwaukee, Moe hopes to expand upon his model, keeping the continuity and consistency of the program neighborhood by neighborhood.

“It’s something that we’re doing, and we’re doing it well,” Moe said. “We’ve demonstrated that it works.”

From a childhood marked by hardship, to a successful real estate investor, Moe exemplifies how personal triumph can inspire profound generosity. By channeling his resources and time building an oasis in a food desert, he embodies the true spirit of giving back, turning his own story of perseverance into a beacon of hope and support for others.

To learn more about the Food Leaders Lab program, click HERE.