People with Disabilities are Driving Solutions to Food Insecurity in Milwaukee

It has been almost a year since the Milwaukee County board of supervisors declared food apartheid to describe the systemic, structural disinvestments from access to fresh, nutritious food in low-income areas of the city.

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News Features

Symeuang is an elderly, blind, disabled Laotian mother of three children living in Milwaukee. Before she became ill, she worked full-time—often overtime on weekends—to provide for her family. “In 2020, I developed severe kidney disease and could no longer work or provide for my children, especially my youngest child who currently lives with me,” she shares. With the help of a friend, Symeuang was able to apply for and receive Food Share and Medicare benefits, but once policies changed in 2025, she lost both. “Around the same time, I received a hospital bill for approximately $21,000 from a previous hospitalization,” Symeaung continues. “I could no longer afford food for myself and my youngest child because I had no money and did not know where to turn for help.”

Thankfully, Symeuang learned about Alicia’s Place, a Food Share resource center run by Hunger Task Force, where she was quickly able to access benefits again. “I felt an incredible sense of relief and happiness. As the provider for my family, being able to put food on the table again meant everything to me. Tears rolled down my face before I even realized I was crying.”

It has been almost a year since the Milwaukee County board of supervisors declared food apartheid to describe the systemic, structural disinvestments from access to fresh, nutritious food in low-income areas of the city. This declaration last November acknowledges how widespread food insecurity in Milwaukee disproportionately affects Black, Brown and disabled residents, prompted by a number of full-service grocery stores closing in already-underserved neighborhoods. The problem has been exacerbated by federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), known as Food Share in Wisconsin, as a result of HR1 - President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Now, SNAP recipients aged 18-64 are required to work 80 hours a month. Additionally, rather than being entirely federally funded, states will become partially responsible for SNAP funding.

No Help for Many Americans

Research by Govtschemes.org shows between April 2025 and April 2026, enrollment in SNAP declined by approximately 5.8 million Americans, or 13.5%. Changes as a result of HR1 have and will continue to affect hundreds of thousands of people statewide. Department of Health Services (DHS) data shows that this past July, there were more than 121,000 open Food Share cases in Milwaukee County alone. While folks with disabilities and the elderly are exempt from Food Share work requirements, both populations are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, and the red tape around receiving benefits requires more paperwork and jumping through additional hoops. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) reports that 1 in 4 Americans become disabled before retirement age.

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Food deserts make it especially difficult for someone needing accommodations to get to and from the store, especially if they do not drive or have someone to go on their behalf. To make things worse, cuts to the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) have made buses less reliable, so someone with mobility issues may have to walk more than a mile to the store and only be able to carry so much home or go to a corner store where there are fewer healthy options.

In addition to rising healthcare and housing costs, grocery prices have risen more than 30% since January 2020, according to American Default Research. “People who might be on a fixed income, and while that income has not been adjusted, food items are more expensive now than they ever have been,” Lorna Barthel of Independence First points out. 

Capping Benefits

SSI caps savings at $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples. Supplemental Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) caps monthly benefits at $1,690 for non-blind recipients and $2,830 for blind recipients. Barthel adds, “If anything goes wrong, like if you have to fix your car and it costs a couple grand or you need a dental procedure, there’s not a lot of safety buffer. Sometimes people do have to choose between purchasing their medicine and purchasing food.”

While there are hundreds of food pantries and meal sites in Milwaukee, buildings housing them are not always accessible. “Thankfully, the ones I’ve come across have been willing to do someone’s shopping for them and bring whatever they need up the stairs,” Barthel mentions. “People with disabilities often have restrictive diets depending on what type of health issues they have or feeding equipment they might be using, and pantries don’t often have a ton of those options.”

“A part that gets overlooked is the mental load and anxiety it puts on our clients,” Erin Dentice of Centers for Independence attests. “While there’s not supposed to be an interruption in service, they’re hearing different things in the media, and it taxes their bandwidth in a very unhealthy way.”

Amos Besaw, disability benefits supervisor at the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), says that his department received some 55,000 calls in 2025 with many folks seeking to enroll in long-term care. “One of the big populations that’s going to be hit with Food Share issues are able-bodied working adults, who are 18-64 year olds.” Before HR1, the maximum age for that demographic was 59, not 64. 

Work Requirements?

Able-bodied working adults may have an invisible disability—an illness, disorder, disease or impairment that may not be immediately obvious from the outside. Besaw continues, “Many are working currently but apply for disability benefits through SSI, which is a long process. It generally takes nine months to a year before you get a decision. Unfortunately, most people aren’t approved through their initial application and have to go through the appeal process. They have conditions that are limiting or preventing their work, and they’re going to have to meet that work requirement now.”

The ADRC employs two teams of benefit specialists, one for the aforementioned population aged 18-64 and the other for 65 or older, to assist with SNAP applications. Its website lists resources for things like grocery delivery, farmers markets, food pantries and nutritional education. Additionally, the DHS offers nutritional programs for seniors like at-home meal delivery as well as dining centers, with more than 15 sites in Milwaukee County and transportation options available.

As one of the major organizations addressing food apartheid as well as SNAP cuts, Hunger Task Force (HTF) has been incredibly busy getting fresh, nutritious food to individuals and families across Milwaukee. Reno Wright, HTF public policy and advocacy director, says that despite the significant decrease in number of people enrolled in Food Share, the 35% increase in local food pantry traffic shows that the demand is still very much there. “Many pantries can’t always keep up with the demand. When grocery stores close, people become more dependent on food pantries.”

Losing Access

HTF has two accessible Food Share resource centers in Milwaukee, Alicia’s Place (4144 N. 56th St.) in Midtown and the Southside Resource Center (802 W. Historic Mitchell St.), helping folks apply for and troubleshoot their benefits with advocates in 10 different languages. Wright says that the centers have supported 480 individuals with disabilities with Food Share in the last year. “Losing access to food benefits has definitely created a hardship for a lot of vulnerable people in our community, including a lot of children, people with disabilities, veterans, seniors and even working families.”

In addition to its network of more than 200 partnering food pantries and meal sites in the Greater Milwaukee Area, HTF runs a Mobile Market that offers fresh items from Piggly Wiggly at a 25% discount, making daily stops Monday through Friday around the city. Through its Commodity Supplemental Food Program, HTF partners with local organizations on stock box distribution for seniors with sites at a number of parks, churches and senior centers. These boxes include perishable and non-perishable foods including grains, proteins and fresh produce from HTF’s 200-acre farm in Franklin. 

Stock box recipients must be Wisconsin residents above 60 and be at a certain income level; if an individual does not qualify, they are referred to 211 for up-to-date information about food pantries open in proximity to their ZIP code. For seniors who cannot go pick up boxes in-person, caregivers may pick up for them plus HTF offers a DoorDash option.

Finding Partners

One Friday every month from 10 to 11 a.m., HTF distributes stock boxes for seniors at Independence First (IF), 540 S. 1st St. in Walker’s Point, an organization that empowers people with disabilities to live independently. In 2025, IF served 4,722 people by way of its many programs and resources. 

“Food insecurity was especially an issue during Covid, so we found a partner in Hunger Task Force to help us address that need,” IF community outreach and special events coordinator Lorna Barthel explains. So far in 2026, IF’s distribution site has provided 377 senior stock boxes. Barthel affirms, “People are using the program and it’s always been very helpful. We have no plans of getting rid of it.” 

Inside the IF building is a closet stocked with unopened boxes of hygiene items and donated mobility equipment like walkers and canes that caregivers may access for those in need. When the news first broke about the SNAP cuts, Barthel recalls getting quite a few calls from folks concerned they might lose their benefits. “Thankfully, in the last few months, I’ve gotten less calls from people panicking.” One of IF’s core services is teaching independent living skills, which include free on-site cooking classes in one-on-one or group settings. “We don’t specialize in any one disability so that we can serve everyone.” Barthel notes. “Support and independence looks different for everyone. If someone chooses to live in a nursing or group home, maybe independence to them means they can cook their own meals.”

She continues about the classes, “Food brings people together but budget is often a concern for everyone. If you aren’t comfortable disclosing that you are food-insecure, you can just come on by and have a piece of pizza and talk about whatever we’re focusing on in this particular class. You don’t have to prove your disability status or anything; you can just come on down and cook a meal with us.” Participants must sign up for classes in advance; the full schedule of programs is available here. IF also has a gardening club where participants learn to grow their own food using raised garden beds in the building’s rear.

Supporting Pantries

Barthel encourages folks to support their local food banks and pantries whenever possible, pointing out, “People rely on and use those pantries, and people rely on the Hunger Task Force food distributions we run every month.” Folks may support Independence First by way of volunteering or monetary, hygiene product or mobility equipment donations.

Another Milwaukee organization providing crucial support with food access is Centers for Independence (CFI) (2020 W. Wells St.). Dedicated to supporting people with disabilities and behavioral health needs of all ages through trauma-informed, person-centered programming, CFI’s services include its Leisure, Inclusion, Fun, Employment (LIFE) day program that meets Monday through Friday. Led by Erin Dentice, LIFE provides nutritional education like cooking and kitchen skills as well as opportunities to garden, help at food pantries or farmers markets, and sell fresh produce from CFI’s greenhouses and farm field to partnering restaurants. 

“Something I hear regularly is that someone wishes they had access to this type of produce when they’re at home,” Dentice observes. “A lot of our clients live in group homes—who do a great job at putting together menus and providing nutritious meals—but our clients are hungry for more seasonal, nutrient-dense meals.”

High Cost of Health

Last fall, CFI collaborated with the Milwaukee Food Council on a listening session where participants led discussions about food apartheid in Milwaukee. Dentice remembers one gentleman with health issues who said that he specifically wanted to lose weight and bring his blood pressure down. “He expressed in this meeting that he’ll make a list and come up with recipes, and he takes a suitcase to the store because he walks there. Because grocery prices are on the rise, it’s really hard for him at the moment to purchase healthy things he wants to make, and by the time he gets home, it’s a lot easier to just throw a pizza in the oven.”

Following the listening session, Dentice facilitated a six-week workshop with LIFE cohorts where they learned about Milwaukee’s history of segregation and food deserts. “Now they are well-trained to pursue their own initiatives to address food insecurity in the city,” she says, noting how participants have been proactive in getting produce out into the community and phoning food pantries about inventories. Restaurants such as Braise, Goodkind and Semolina have worked with CFI, and the organization is always seeking new community partnerships, volunteers and donations.

By way of its nutritional services program, CFI partnered with HTF and Racine-based Benner Beats Hunger on administering more than 100 summer meal sites in the Milwaukee area. Now that summer is over, CFI continues to focus on fighting hunger in schools and daycares. “We are going to see more people who qualify for services miss out on these services because they have more hoops to jump through,” executive support Carson Maule laments. “We saw a large ramp-up in our program, especially our meal sites in neighboring rural communities. We had individuals driving one or two hours to take advantage of those sites. We had families sleeping in their car just to get access to that free food.”