Milwaukee food pantry gets helpful donation from Feeding America to fight hunger

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Food insecurity remains an issue in Southeastern Wisconsin.

But one gift to a local pantry is helping feed families while offering people a new job skill.

Ebenezer Stone Ministries operates a central location on Milwaukee's southwest side.

They connect at least six other pantries with needed items for thousands of people in their communities.

"Those pantries supply food for Kenosha, or the south side of Milwaukee. I think there's one that comes from Beloit. Places that we can't reach, that's not accessible they can come here and load up and feed the people," Michael Haas, Executive Director, Ebenezer Stone Ministries said.

It's all part of their partnership with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

And today, the non-profit donated three pieces of equipment for the pantry -- a forklift and two pallet jacks.

"It just goes so far in their mission to not only serve the community over here but also their employees, and people who come right to them," Tony Cartagena, of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, said.

Both organizations say food insecurity has grown tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And so, Haas says the food pantries are more vital now, than ever.

"A lot of people lost their jobs or a lot of people couldn't work because they got sick," Haas said.

The equipment donation will go beyond just moving pallets here.

Ebenezer Stone Ministries is partnering with MATC to offer fork-lift certification for students.

"And so the idea is to use some of these items to train people in this warehouse so that they can go out into the job market and move right into a career," Haas said.

Ebenezer's hub opened in August and also stores furniture, clothing and hygiene products for organizations to take.