MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Sharon Sadowski knows Bay View better than most.
She's lived just a block away from the neighborhood community center for nearly 40 years.
"I'm always hanging out here, I'm here quite a bit,” said Sharon Sadowski, Lead Food Pantry Volunteer, Bay View Community Center.
She says volunteering was always her retirement plan.
“There's no ‘Oh poor you,’ there. They're just our friends and neighbors and we're happy to run this grocery store for them,” said Sadowski.
At the heart of the Bay View Community Center is intention and that can be seen in the heart of the pantry.
Each shelf is set up in a way where someone can come in and grab things in order so that they can put together a healthy and nutritious plate.
“We want to make sure we're sorting through to give them the best because… just because. They're not second-class citizens, they deserve good food too,” said Sadowski.
Their service system is simple. They work primarily with four city zip codes: 53207, 53215, 53221, and 53235.
Pantry and Operations Director Chad VanDierendonck says the need for the pantry surged in the last five years.
Volunteers now serve nine times the amount of people than they did in 2019.
“We want people to be able to get what they need and that's what we're designed to do,” said VanDierendonck.
That includes adding a new community kitchen, where they plan to open up the certified commercial space to people looking to start their own businesses.
“That's where we come in and are hopefully able to get them started at a rate that might be a little bit lower than what they might find elsewhere,” said VanDierendonck.
As the pantry continues to grow, both Sharon and Chad say their goal is to make sure everyone feels welcome.
“If you’ve got someone that is a little off that day, don’t take the negative on. Just give back the positive,” said Sadowski.
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