WEST MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Hunger Task Force food banks in the Milwaukee area have had more visitors and longer lines this summer than in previous years as their food supply is low.
Group Executive Director Sherri Tussler said while they’re used to seeing more traffic over the summer, with school lunches off the table, 2023 is different.
“We are currently filling emergency food orders for certain pantries who are saying all the food that you gave us for this month has been depleted," she recalled. "We need more food.”
She said the end of both individual and organization based pandemic relief federal funding has only made it harder for them to keep up.
Tussler explained while the challenges brought on by the pandemic are fading, families are faced with new budgeting obstacles.
"The demand is still there because food prices are unnaturally inflated at present,” she said. “Anybody who's shopping at the grocery store is getting a little sticker shock by what they're seeing."
The group's warehouse was only about 60 percent full Monday afternoon, which is enough inventory to keep them going for at least 6 months. However, without donations Tussler said it’s hard to predict where they’ll be long term.
“We’re just trying to inform and educated people that we need their support,” she said. “They need to get back to their practices of giving that were pre-pandemic and hopefully we won’t run into some sort of crisis.”
The Hunger Task Force serves 37 food banks, 20 soup kitchens and homeless shelters, as well as about 150 senior dining and senior public housing locations.
If you want to support the group you can donate money online or drop off food at their warehouse at 5000 West Electric Avenue in W. Milwaukee.
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