Milwaukee Court Reporters:  Meals For Minds After School Pantry

Submitted By:  Court Reporter Andrea Reichle, RPR 

Brown & Jones Reporting has begun a new initiative for the 2012 year.  We will be volunteering once every quarter for a local organization.  Our first opportunity was on Tuesday, February 28, for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. 

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin was founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and is a food bank. Through the warehouses in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley, more than 15 million pounds of food a year is distributed to more than 1,000 pantries, meal programs and other nonprofit agencies that serve 330,000 people in eastern Wisconsin. Through the Milwaukee distribution center, food is provided to nearly 800 nonprofit programs in nine counties. The Fox Valley branch provides food to nearly 300 nonprofit programs in 27 counties.

We participated in the Meals for Minds program, which is an innovative program created by Target with the goal of feeding undernourished children so they can perform well in school.  Since 2010, Target has awarded Feeding America programs nationwide with grant money in order to make this event possible.  Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is organizing monthly distributions from September through May at Forest Home Elementary School.  During each distribution, each child enrolled at the school receives 22 lbs. of food, of which 25% of that total consists of fresh produce. 

The Meals for Minds event takes place at Forest Home Elementary School, 1516 W. Forest Home Ave, in Milwaukee. The volunteer shift is from 3:15 to 6:30 pm. Volunteers are needed for various tasks including, but not limited to: bagging produce and other food items, assembling and dressing tables, prepping food cartons for distribution, breaking down cardboard, monitoring the food as it is distributed, restocking tables, bringing chilled cases from the truck, and clean up. 

Susan Kay, Jane Jones, and Rachel Gwidt were bagging the fresh produce, which included items like onions, celery, oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, etc., and distributing it once the families came through.  I was helping get plastic bags ready for the produce, and then was in charge of distributing loaves of bread to the families.  Each family would get two loaves of bread per child that was enrolled in the school.  I was told by a Feeding America employee, Gina, that around 500 families received food last month.  Gina is hoping that after the grant that Target provided runs out, they will be able to find more financial support to continue this program. 

The next opportunity is on March 22, 2012.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Chad Weston Gardner at cwgardner@feedingamericawi.org or 414-831-6310.