MILWAUKEE - — People in our communities are struggling to buy food.
The Hunger Task Force says there were 21,000 monthly visitors at Milwaukee area pantries during the height of the pandemic. Now, there are 31,000 people coming in the doors each month and that number is growing.
Federal emergency declarations set in motion during the pandemic have provided extra food-share dollars, meaning many people haven't needed to rely so heavily on local pantries. But Hunger Task Force leaders say the emergency allotments are expected to end soon.
"Which will mean significant decreases to the amount of Foodshare that people receive," said Matt King, the associate director. "So need will continue to increase throughout the rest of this year."
And that's why volunteers will continue to be such an important piece of this conversation. One way you can help is by spending time on the Hunger Task Force Farm. It's a 200-acre piece of land out in Franklin. Each year, The Farm provides hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh produce for Milwaukee area pantries but to do that — it takes 5,000 volunteers.
But Hunger Task Force can't do any of this without the help of volunteers. Click here if you're interested in signing up.
