When it comes to food pantries raising money is no laughing matter. But a Milwaukee food bank was thrilled to find out they were the charity of choice for a comedian who make the Brew City an annual holiday stop.
"Hi I'm Jim Gaffigan, I don't normally look like this but I am doing a movie where I am playing Chris Hemsworth," said Jim Gaffigan as he introduced himself in a YouTube video for the Riverwest Food Pantry.
The comedian is a New Year's Eve staple in Milwaukee. For a decade he has done stand up at the Pabst's Theater. But when he is not performing his family has spent time at the food pantry.
"The Gaffigan family has actually come here to volunteer," said Vincent Noth who is the executive director.
The Riverwest Food Pantry serves the city's northwest side community. They rely on a few church parishes, families and the hunger task force for donations.
"We are always hustling for food and for dollars to just be able to keep our doors open," said Noth.
This marks Gaffigan's 10th year performing in Milwaukee, so to do something special, he added an extra show to give all the money to the pantry.
"Jim is waiving his artist fee and the Pabst is waving any of their fees and all the proceeds are going to come to us," said Noth.
Those proceeds will help the pantry focus on nutritional health. About a third of its customers have someone in their household with diabetes and more than half high blood pressure.
"We do a lot of food engagement. We do cooking demos in our pantry, we do partnerships to get more fresh produce in our pantry," said Noth.
If the show does well, the pantry said it could pay for a third of its operating budget this year.
If you are interested in buying tickets you can do so through the Riverwest Food Pantry facebook page. They will put up a special link at 12 p.m. on Wednesday October 12.
https://www.facebook.com/riverwestfoodpantry/?fref=ts
