Milwaukee County approves $150K for food assistance during government shutdown

Milwaukee County is allocating $150,000 to help residents who rely on federal food assistance amid the ongoing government shutdown. 

More than 234,000 people in Milwaukee County rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is known as FoodShare in Wisconsin.

After courts ruled the Trump administration needed to continue to fund the program, the administration said partial benefits would be released this month. A ruling by a federal judge Thursday said the administration must fully fund the program this month, according to an Associated Press report.

But it’s unclear when the more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents in the program will receive the funds.

A resolution, passed unanimously Thursday by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, transfers $150,000 to the county Department of Health & Human Services. That department will then work with local groups and organizations to allocate the funds to provide “emergency supplemental food assistance to County residents impacted by the reduction in SNAP benefits.”

“Families are struggling to afford groceries,” Milwaukee County Chair Marcelia Nicholson said during a committee meeting Thursday. “Pantries are stretched thin and too many parents are wondering how they’ll feed their kids this week.” 

Nicholson said the funds could help thousands of families. 

“This emergency funding is meant to bridge the gap through the holidays for families hit the hardest,” she said.

The resolution said any agreements with “local partners” should “include clear performance metrics, including the number of households served, pounds of food distributed (with emphasis on fresh and perishable goods) and targeted outreach to neighborhoods with limited grocery access.”

Milwaukee County Supervisor Sequanna Taylor was a co-sponsor of the measure.

“If a child is hungry, they cannot learn in a classroom because their mind is too focused on what’s outside of the classroom,” Taylor said. “And if a family is hungry, it affects the whole family.” 

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges is one of the organizations that could receive county funding. The community organization has a food shed and organizes food distribution events.

Melody McCurtis, the executive director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said food insecurity in the north side neighborhood in Milwaukee has been on the rise since July when a grocery store in the neighborhood closed. 

“So we really want to work with them (county) to make sure that a good portion of those funds are directed and allocated to support families in Metcalfe Park that have already been going through this compounding crisis since July,” McCurtis said. 

NourishMKE, which operates food pantries in Milwaukee, already has a site in the county’s Marcia P. Coggs building. Nicholson said they could also be a recipient of the county support. 

“So we’ll have access to putting food in that center, and people can go access it from there,” Nicholson said.

The resolution says the county Department of Health & Human Services could report back to the county board in December to request more funds if necessary.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley plans to sign the resolution. A county spokesperson said the funds could be released “in a matter of days.”

“I will support the Board’s resolution, but let me be clear: This is not a long-term solution,” Crowley wrote in a statement. “This is a drop in the bucket for what working families need right now.” 

“We are now in the longest government shutdown in American history,” Crowley added. “As Milwaukee County steps up and supports families in need, we must continue calling on President Donald Trump and leaders in Congress to deliver federal food assistance, protect affordable healthcare, and end the government shutdown — because the livelihoods of working families in Wisconsin depends on it.”

Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency over the shutdown last week. An order from Evers directs state agencies to take “any and all necessary and appropriate measures” to address the potential disruption in federal food assistance.