Despite the cold November weather, faith leaders and community members gathered Sunday Nov. 9 at Way of The Cross Missionary Baptist Church on Milwaukee’s north side to give Thanksgiving baskets to families in need amid federal food assistance funding uncertainty.
“Given what’s going on with with the food shortages and stuff with the food benefits, this will be a great help to some families,” Most Worshipful Grand Master Shawn James, Sr. told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We understand the need and we’re trying our best to address it.”
The basket giveaway, organized by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Wisconsin and the Unity Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, PHA State of Wisconsin, took place at six locations in southeastern and south-central part of the state.
At the event’s two Milwaukee locations, The Way of the Cross Missionary Baptist Church and St. Matthew’s Church, organizers estimated they would be able to feed a total of 2,000 people. Each basket could feed up to 10 people and included a turkey, a bag of potatoes, bread rolls, vegetables, sweets and side dishes.
While Way of The Cross Missionary Baptist Church does an annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, Rev. Dr. Eddie Nash, Sr. told the Journal Sentinel that with FoodShare up in the air, they knew they needed to do something to help families in need on a “much larger scale.” Through the partnership with Prince Hall and the Unity Grand Chapter, Nash said his church was able to multiply its efforts to help the community.
The event took place a day after the Trump administration told Wisconsin officials to “undo” their fulfillment of food assistance benefits amid a court battle over funding the nation’s anti-hunger programs during the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, expired Nov. 1 amid the federal shutdown as Democrats and Republicans remain at a standstill over the federal spending bill.
While Wisconsin was able to get FoodShare funds out to recipients early Friday, the U.S. Treasury has since rejected reimbursing grocers for food purchased by participants in Wisconsin’s food assistance program, according to the Evers administration.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Faith leaders, community members give out Thanksgiving baskets at Milwaukee churches
Reporting by Anna Kleiber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
