MILWAUKEE — The shelves are stocked at Gather Bakehouse in Bayview as the bakery prepares for the halt of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, otherwise known as SNAP, starting Nov. 1.
"All you have to do is show that card, no questions asked, no judgment," co-owner of Gather Bakehouse, Mattey Voboril, said.
The bakery is offering daily bread to those affected by the SNAP benefit changes.
"So every single day you can get an Italian loaf, seeded or unseeded, or you can get 6 rolls," Voboril said.
Watch: Milwaukee bakery and restaurant offer free food as SNAP benefits halt
Voboril said that 22 people facing these uncertain times have already stopped by.
"Just knowing that like a mom, that's just another stress off their shoulders. Like just a little bit of bread that can feed their family," Voboril said.
Community members looking to help can donate money to add to a running gift card fund at the bakery.
"People are just people, we all come to a bakery and just like get a donut for ourselves, and we still want to be able to offer that, so that's where we were going with the community gift card," pastry chef and kitchen manager, Joey Hebert said.
Gather Bakehouse isn't the only place in the area lending a helping hand, as community members fear what is next for their food share benefits. Strange Town on the east side of Milwaukee is serving up a free cup of soup in-house or to go.
"We're giving soup to anyone who's missing SNAP benefits for the month of November," bartender at Strange Town, Abby Van Akkeren, said.
"This kind of hit everyone and made everyone realize that it truly is going to affect people and very fast," Van Akkeren said.
Van Akkeren works at the vegan restaurant on Prospect and is happy to be a part of giving back.
"The way that everyone is trying to work together right now is something that can really continue and not only in Milwaukee but everywhere," Van Akkeren said.
Strange Town is open from 5-9 PM, Wednesday through Saturday.
If you're looking to help Strange Town help others, you can drop off ingredients to help them make their vegan soups or make monetary donations to keep this going.
"There's more than enough to go around," Van Akkeren said.
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