MILWAUKEE, Wis. — TMJ4 is partnering once again with Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force and Raymond James for the Home 4 the Holidays Virtual Food Drive — an entirely online effort designed to stock food pantry shelves across Wisconsin.
Watch: Emergency food helpers share how to support Wisconsin food pantries with a click
Participants can visit the Hunger Task Force website, where they’ll find an assortment of holiday food items available for purchase. Every dollar donated goes directly toward stocking shelves at nearly 70 emergency food pantries, meal sites and shelters throughout Wisconsin.
"It'll go a long way toward allowing us to purchase the foods that we need to meet the need in the community,” said Mardi Smirl, community relations manager for Hunger Task Force.
For food pantries statewide, the demand for assistance continues to rise. Kelli Hirt, director of Wisconsin Food and Nutrition Services, oversees the Vivent Health food pantry, which serves people living with HIV and AIDS. She said this pantry alone serves 600 people a month and that she’s seen numbers rise this year compared to last.
“Costs of prescription medicines are getting super high, and sometimes people have to decide between paying for their grocery bill and paying for rent, for their utilities, for anything that it really takes to live,” Hirt said. “So here at the pantry, we want to make sure that we can send people home with really healthy foods and really good staples, so that we can fill in a gap.”
She emphasized the critical role food plays in overall well-being.
"Food is an essential piece of health care. It is a human right. It is something that everyone should have, no matter their socioeconomic status,” Hirt said.
Nicole Williams, a pantry assistant at Vivent Health, sees firsthand how her shoppers are struggling. To reduce stress and encourage healthy eating, she creates cookbooks for pantry visitors using available ingredients.
"They really do like it, and it keeps me learning, and it gives me a different way to communicate with people as they come in to lessen the stress on them,” Williams said.
Williams hopes continued community support will keep pantry shelves stocked — and recipes coming.
"If you have the ability to give, no matter how big or small, every little bit helps,” Williams said.
Donations to the Home 4 the Holidays Virtual Food Drive can be made throughout December. Donations made this month will benefit those in need through the holidays and beyond.
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