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Milwaukee south siders create grass-roots food donation campaign

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MILWAUKEE — A group of seven south side Milwaukee neighbors has banded together in just two weeks to create a vital and now popular service for residents affected by the coronavirus.

"Literally like this was just a group of us that felt that call to start doing mutual aid. We understand our community here on the south side, and for us, it's just like let's just do it," Jeanette Martín, with the group Ayuda Mutua MKE, said.

Two weeks ago, Ayuda Mutua MKE was just a Facebook page dedicated to translating important coronavirus information into Spanish.

"Translating a lot of information from the CDC, from the World Health Organization, from the city of Milwaukee to the state of Wisconsin," Martín said.

Then one week later, it blossomed into something more: a food delivery, donation, and pickup service.

They operate out of a room connected to the St. Patrick School at 1115 South 7th St. Cars drive down an alley where one of the organizers will take the food and hand it through a window where all the food is being stored.

Members of Ayuda Mutua MKE help unload a car full of food donations and pass them through a window to be sorted and stored.

In just about a week, the group has gotten tons of donations.

"Its been overwhelmingly really positive. Both positive, I think in terms of folks that are donating, and I think overwhelming in a good way in terms of the folks that are asking for assistance," Martín said.

You can drop off food from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Pickups happen from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. If you can't get to the St. Patrick School, you can ask them to deliver the food to you. The best way to reach out to the group is through their Facebook page.

Beyond the food and the translation services, Ayuda Mutua MKE doesn't see itself as a charity. Instead, the group considers the work they are doing as solidarity work. After all, we are all neighbors and all in this fight against the coronavirus together.

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