Hunger Task Force, Inc.

Hunger Task Force is a Milwaukee-based food bank and anti-hunger organization that describes itself as Milwaukee's Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin's leading anti-hunger organization. It provides food assistance through pantries and meal sites, FoodShare assistance, nutrition education, and a Mobile Market grocery store on wheels. Its history traces to 1974, when a group of parent advocates organized to fight for healthy, universal school breakfast within Milwaukee Public Schools; in 1982 a local television station's Food For Families food drive led the task force of local advocates to help distribute donations to local pantries, becoming Hunger Task Force's first act as a food bank and giving rise to the Free & Local food banking model. The organization serves as the state's primary administrator of several federal commodity programs, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplement Food Program (CSFP) or Stockbox. It publishes a quarterly newsletter and annual reports and runs initiatives such as Connecting Farms to Families.

Hunger Task Force's history begins in 1974, when a group of parent advocates banded together to fight for healthy, universal school breakfast within Milwaukee Public Schools; this group continued promoting local policies to support food security in Milwaukee and its communities. In 1982, a local television station held the first Food For Families food drive, and the task force of local advocates was called upon to help distribute donations to local pantries; that effort became Hunger Task Force's first act as a food bank and the Free & Local food banking model was born. By 2002, described as growing services and impact in Wisconsin, Hunger Task Force continued to serve Milwaukee's growing poverty population amid shifts and changes in the economic landscape, and over time took food banking to the next level, serving as the state's primary administrator of several federal commodity programs, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplement Food Program (CSFP) or Stockbox for hungry seniors.

Milwaukee's only Free & Local foodbank and Wisconsin's anti-hunger leader

1. 1Hunger Task Force, Milwaukee's Free & Local food bankhungertaskforce.org
2. 2History - Hunger Task Forcehungertaskforce.org
3. 3About Hunger - Hunger Task Forcehungertaskforce.org
4. 4Hunger Publications - Hunger Task Forcehungertaskforce.org