Photo by Tyler Nelson
Caitlin Cullen in front of The Tandem.
The Rotary Club of Milwaukee will distribute $20,000 across five local organizations combating food insecurity in the Johnsons Park neighborhood.
One of those recipients is The Tandem (1848 W. Fond Du Lac Ave.). Chef and owner Caitlin Cullen gave away over 30,000 meals since March 18, when in the face of running out of business, she started distributing all the food in her refrigerators and freezers to those in need. The community took notice along with other restaurants and organizations who started to donate food and money to help her cause.
“Since we’ve partnered with the World Central Kitchen, they have been reimbursing the meals that we send out, we’ve also partnered with over 40 restaurants that are struggling in Milwaukee,” says Cullen. “With that money from the Rotary, that really expands our ability to continue to engage more of Milwaukee restaurants and enables us to feed more of the community.”
Cullen was able to get a small staff of six back together, along with the help from five volunteers to keep pumping out meals Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at no cost, to anyone who needs them.
“We try and set people up with something to eat for the weekend when we’re not handing out meals,” says Cullen. “On Friday we handed out 1,600 meals. It’s been (very) crazy.”
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In the wake of COVID-19 and with in-person Rotarian meetings on hold, the Club made the decision early on to repurpose funds typically used to provide meals at meetings to help local organizations provide food and support to the community in this challenging time.
“In the face of global struggle, we want to use the resources we have to help serve those struggling in our community,” says Steve Chevalier, president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee. “The selected organizations have all stepped up to provide food and relief in this challenging time, and we’re honored to play a part in furthering their efforts.”
The Club selected the following five organizations to receive financial support, addressing a range of projects and needs:
- Alice’s Gardens will receive $5,000 to help meet the increased demand for garden plots and local fresh food;
- Fondy Food will receive $5,000, which will provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds to people participating in food share programs with fresh produce, doubling a family’s access to fresh, nutritious food;
- Tandem will receive $5,000 to continue partnerships with local restaurants to provide free food to anyone in need;
- St. Ann Center will receive $2,500 to provide food for participants in the intergenerational and adult day care programming; and
- House of Peace will receive $2,500 for its emergency food pantry services in the Johnsons Park area.
The organizations were selected based on criteria set forth by the Club to maximize impact in the community. That criteria includes:
- Recipient organization’s mission addresses food insecurity in the local community, in the effort to achieve “food symmetry” from the Club table to the community’s table;
- Activities and projects directly benefit people living in the Johnsons Park Neighborhood;
- Organization is adaptable and responsive to the changing needs of the community as we move through different stages of the pandemic;
- Organization has a clear impact that lifts up dignity of those involved;
- Organization has demonstrated need, where a gift of this size makes a noticeable difference; and
- Gift will cause a ripple effect and make an impact beyond one organization.
Since March, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee has also made donations totaling $13,500 to Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin and Progressive Community Health Centers to help bring COVID-19 testing to the community.
