You can help make sure no one goes hungry this holiday season.
TODAY’s TMJ4 is teaming up with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin for the “Food for the Holidays” phone bank this afternoon.
It turns out your donations will help feed hundreds of thousands of people.
Early on a Monday morning, you'll find the Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin food bank packed. Food pantries, homeless shelters and other programs come here to stock up on fresh food for the people they feed.
“It's very important. It helps the community, the inner city get fresh fruits and vegetables. Things that they cannot have every day,” said Leila Watson, who's collecting food for Northside Lutheran Ministries.
Feeding America helps those organizations provide food for 377,000 people annually.
“Six hundred different programs, some of them are food pantries some of them are homeless shelters, we have school based pantries, mobile pantries, those are all throughout eastern Wisconsin. Two hundred right here in Milwaukee,” Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin President and CEO Charles McLimans said.
For every dollar donated, 97 cents goes right back into stocking the cooler and shelves at Feeding America.
“We work with retailers, farmers, manufacturers, a wide variety to source that food. We say we can stretch our dollars. We're very efficient with what we do we can turn a $1 donation into 3 meals,” McLimans said.
The churches and pantries stocking up say this is their busiest time of year.
“Not only to give food, but to teach people about being eating healthier with the food that we get here from Feeding America,” New Life, New Beginning Minister Bryan Biddle said.
Call (414) 967-5417 between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and make a donation to the food bank.
The charitable giving continues at the Food 4 the Holidays Drive-through Donation, scheduled for Dec. 21. A phone bank and a donation drive will be set up in lobby of TODAY'S TMJ4 at 720 E. Capitol Dr.
