Meet Our 2021 Milwaukee Empty Bowls Recipients

The following organizations were selected to receive funds
raised from our fundraising activities
for 2021
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Friedens Community Ministries, Inc.
Friedens Community Ministries, Inc. is a network of food pantries building ladders of peace throughout Milwaukee.  We believe that a dependable supply of food is a means of bringing hope and dignity to our community.
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At Friedens we bring together a team of people who donate food, finances, time, tears, and talent to help us make sure that people can access the food they desperately need.  At the base of the ladder, we know that without food in ones cupboards one cannot have a real sense of peace.  Our food pantry network is the base of what we do, our foundation.  Yet we believe that if we can help people move up the rungs of the ladder at the same time we can make long term change.  We do this by incorporating local individuals into our volunteer team…  into our community.  Being a part of something more than themselves and tangibly helping others allows people to build job skills, gain a reliable reference, and even raise ones shoulders higher as they know they are making a difference in someone else’s life.
Milwaukee Rescue Mission​
Since 1893, the Milwaukee Rescue Mission has served men, women and children who are homeless, hungry and in need, helping them restore their lives and bringing them hope.
​We meet our hurting neighbors where they are. We provide practical assistance like meals, clothing and shelter to those in desperate need—each year serving approximately 304,000 meals, distributing nearly 73,000 items of clothing and providing over 98,000 nights of shelter. We also offer transformative programs that give our struggling neighbors a chance at a fresh start. Through our short- and long-term programs, we provide education, counseling, spiritual guidance, addiction recovery services, job training and more.
​It’s often a hot meal and a warm bed that begins the road to recovery, but the Milwaukee Rescue Mission doesn’t stop there. We address the root causes behind the problems of homelessness to help neighbors in need get back on their feet. And for 127 years, we’ve offered support, encouragement and spiritual enrichment, all based on the good news of the Gospel, which we believe is the key to lasting change. We offer help in the present in order to give hope for the future.
​St Vincent de Paul Society of Milwaukee 
St. Vincent de Paul Society of Milwaukee (SVDP) is dedicated to the elimination of hunger and poverty throughout Milwaukee County. In 1833, the St. Vincent de Paul Society was founded in Paris, France by a 20-year-old university student, Frederic Ozanam and his friends. Their model of visiting the poor in the Paris slums was adopted worldwide, reaching Milwaukee in 1849 and volunteer groups called conferences were established in several Milwaukee Catholic parishes. Their main activity was to visit families and individuals in need in their homes and assist them with the basic necessities of life; food, clothing and household items. Incorporated in 1914, the Society in Milwaukee grew over the years, and responded to community needs by starting thrift stores, meal programs, shelters, and helping centers. These programs have been generously supported, not only by the Catholic community, but also by other faiths and the broader community. Locally, SVDP Milwaukee has conferences at 45 Catholic churches and one at our south side meal site. The Society runs two thrift stores, an active Meal Program at two sites, along with a "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" home visit program where over 600 volunteers visit individuals and families in need and provide household necessities (i.e. food, new beds, and kitchen appliances.). 
​Street Angels
Street Angels is a small, non-profit homeless outreach organization that serves those who are experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee County. Street Angels was founded in 2015 and based on the simple principle that every human being deserves food, shelter and hope. The street outreach program takes place three nights per week, 156 nights per year. Currently, there are 41 different stops along the route with an average of 120 people served each night. The short-term goal of the outreach program is to fulfill people’s immediate needs such as food, water, blankets and clothing. Long-term, the goal is to gain their trust, connect with them on a deeper level, and get them connected to community resources that can provide shelter and permanent housing. Street Angels is honored to be one of the 2021 MEB recipients . This funding will help support the hot meal distribution program which will provides nourishment along with a side of hope to everyone that the Street Angels connect with. 
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​The Gathering
The Gathering is a Community Meal Program serving Milwaukee’s hungry and homeless since 1982, created the Fresh Produce Preservation Project (FPPP) in 2010 in part to address the need for access to fresh produce, especially in winter months when cost of produce is higher and when it is less readily available. In conjunction with our daily meals served, the FPPP attempts to reverse the injustice of access by making healthier food more readily available to those who cannot afford other options. “Individuals living in low income neighborhoods often have fewer more expensive healthy food choices, and greater concentrations of fast food outlets and liquor stores” (CUPH, 2011). In other words, individuals most at-risk of serious health conditions are those who cannot afford other options. By increasing the amount of fresh produce in our daily meals, we increase the nutritional value and food options available to our guests, perfectly complementing our mission of feeding the hungry with respect and dignity. The MEB funds would be used to cover costs associated with staffing and oversite of the Fresh Produce Preservation Project.