Photo by Catalina West Esquivel
Peggy West
Peggy West
The St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Meal Program serves free, hot, nutritious meals throughout the week as part of their mission to eliminate poverty and hunger. With two locations, Harambee Kitchen on the north side and Cross Roads Kitchen on the south side, SVDP welcomes and accommodates all. Peggy West has been SVDP’s meal program manager for almost a decade and finds immense joy in helping facilitate a safe, accessible place for folks to be served healthy meals.
“I love the work that Vincent de Paul does,” West affirms. “They really listen to what you need and try to help you with your life.”
The meal program serves food that comes from churches of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The program is made possible by generous volunteers, of which there are typically 10 to 15 on-sight each night.
West says about the program’s volunteers and staff, “I hire a lot of people who are just as impacted, people who grew up in these neighborhoods and understand the plight, and people who have been our guests. You don’t want someone to come in and look down their nose at people and act like it’s just a job to them.”
Cross Roads Kitchen (931 W. Madison St.) is open Sunday through Friday, 2-6:30 p.m. Exclusive to the South Side location is a free shower program starting at 3 p.m. each day. All shower necessities are provided by SVDP. Harambee Kitchen is at All Peoples Church (open Monday through Friday, 2-6:30 p.m. Meals are served at both locations every day at 5:30 p.m. SVDP submits their menus to Hunger Task Force every month to ensure that each meal they serve is nutritious and substantial.
Fresh Produce in a Food Desert
“We don’t ever serve something one day and then serve it again the next day,” West assures. “If your mom wouldn’t do it, we wouldn’t do it either.”
Hunger Task Force also provides the meal program with fresh produce. “We’re kind of in a food desert, so it’s always nice when folks can take home fresh peaches and broccoli,” West adds.
In addition to meals, SVDP offers clothing and school supplies to those in need. The program has also helped eligible folks register to vote and has offered free haircuts. For days they are closed, SVDP packages meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner the day prior to give to folks so that they do not go hungry.
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Ready to Serve
West describes the SVDP community as having a readiness to help other people, giving as an example, “One of our volunteers talked to a girl who was struggling to go to school because she needed clean clothes, and the volunteer ended up coming to do the girl’s laundry for her every two weeks.
“The girl ended up being able to graduate from high school, which she wouldn’t have been able to do if that person wouldn’t have been doing her laundry. It’s amazing, the selflessness that people have, and that’s been really heartwarming.”
West wants to eventually have a free laundry program at SVDP as well as implement the shower program at the North Side location. Another goal of hers is to change the narrative about why meal programs are necessary in the first place by way of civic engagement. She elaborates, “Our numbers have been the highest they have been since before the pandemic, and 90 percent of the people we serve have jobs or income of some kind.”
Call for More
West concludes with a call for more volunteers, “Thankfully, we were able to get generous people to see that this is a need and were able to bulk up our staff, but some nights we still don’t have enough people to help serve.”
St. Vincent de Paul also runs three thrift stores in Milwaukee (2320 W. Lincoln Ave., 8010 N. 76th St, and 4476 S. 108th St in Greenfield). Proceeds from each store support the meal program. Rounding up at these stores helps SVDP incorporate exciting projects like Thanksgiving meals or back-to-school bags.
Those interested in volunteering at either St. Vincent de Paul location may sign up at svdpmilw.org/meal-program.aspx.
