MILWAUKEE — From Riverwest to the streets of 53206, there were several efforts to put hundreds of meals on the tables of Milwaukee residents ahead of Thanksgiving on Saturday.
"We know that groceries are more expensive now than they were last year and years before and so we want to be able to work together with partners in order to alleviate the burden around the holiday time," said Maricha Harris, Executive Director of the Dominican Center, which partnered with Advocate Aurora Health and Dreams Never Expire to give out upwards of 100 meals on Saturday.
It was an important giveaway, as this year's higher costs are paired with another obstacle for residents of Milwaukee's Amani neighborhood.
"There's no immediate grocery store within the boundaries of the neighborhood," said Harris.
Each meal given away included freshly grown produce and healthy perishable food.
"Our goal is just to make sure that we let the community where I grew up here know that it's somebody that's from this neighborhood that care about you all," said Chad Roper, Executive Director of Dreams Never Expire.
Advocate Aurora Health also paired residents with other resources as well, including hygiene products and healthy recipes.
Meanwhile, over at the Kinship Community Food Center on Clarke and Weil, there was no hesitation to donate upwards of 400 meals. Each meal included a frozen turkey and fresh produce.
"To be able to just take the stress of 100, 200 dollars off of the families so that they can focus on thanksgiving and gather around that table and have like a really wonderful meal is just what this holiday is all about," said Vincent Noth, Executive Director of Kinship Community Food Center.
A heartwarming reminder that we are all in this together this holiday season.
"Maybe we're at different Thanksgiving tables, but we're really part of all one big table. Right? And it's in that sense of our belonging that we sort of re-discover what it means to be a community," said Noth.
