Understanding Food Access in Milwaukee

MKE Grocery Buddy formed to meet immediate needs during SNAP delays, but the work quickly revealed deeper gaps in Milwaukee’s food support systems. Here you can learn more about our city’s food access landscape, why direct mutual aid matters, and what food insecurity really looks like here.

Barriers to Food Access:

  • Food “deserts”: Area where residents have limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Milwaukee has dozens of neighborhoods where residents face:

    • Few or no full-service grocery stores

    • Heavy reliance on corner stores or gas stations with limited fresh product

    • Transportation barriers to reach affordable food options

  • Transportation challenges: Families without reliable transport often rely on convenience stores or fast food, which are less healthy options.

  • Program gaps: SNAP and food banks are essential but cannot meet every need, and eligibility rules or delays can leave families without support.

In Milwaukee:

  • 1 in 8 households struggles with food insecurity.

  • Rates are higher among households with children, seniors, and people of color.

  • Rising food prices have made these challenges even worse.

SNAP & Food Banks Are Critical — But Gaps Still Exist

Programs like SNAP/FoodShare and local food banks are essential. They provide millions of meals and ensure families have basic nutrition. Without these supports, food insecurity would be far worse.

Yet, even with these critical programs, many people fall through the cracks. Eligibility limitations, benefit delays, transportation barriers, and rising food costs mean SNAP and food banks alone cannot meet all needs.

Direct mutual aid, like MKE Grocery Buddy, fills these gaps—offering flexible, immediate, and dignified support.

What SNAP Doesn’t Cover

  • Hot or Prepared Food: SNAP cannot be used for hot meals, most deli items, or restaurant food.

  • Household Essentials: Diapers, toilet paper, soap, cleaning supplies, feminine products.

  • Delivery Fees & Transportation: SNAP can’t cover delivery fees, bus fare, or rideshares.

  • Full-Month Grocery Needs: Benefits often run out before the month ends.

  • Immediate Help During Delays: Application or renewal delays can leave households without food

  • Flexible, Dignified Support: SNAP is bureaucratic and cannot provide personalized, culturally appropriate, or emotionally supportive aid.

Why Mutual Aid Matters

Mutual aid doesn’t replace SNAP or food banks—it complements them.

  • Immediate Assistance: Same-day support during delays or crises.

  • Flexibility: Hot meals, delivery, household essentials, cultural or dietary-specific foods.

  • Support for the Underserved: Reaches those ineligible for SNAP, including undocumented community members, college students, and people just above income cutoffs.

  • Access in Food Deserts: Brings groceries directly to neighborhoods with limited grocery access.

  • Community-Centered Care: Fosters dignity, choice, and human connection.

WORKS CITED:

  • Hunger Task Force. FoodShare Resources. Hunger Task Force, 2025. Hunger Task Force

  • City of Milwaukee. FEED MKE Project. City of Milwaukee, “The Data is Clear,” 2025. City of Milwaukee+1

  • Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “New Map the Meal Gap Data Shows Food Insecurity Worsening Across Eastern Wisconsin,” May 2025. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin

  • Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “High Grocery Prices, Government Cutbacks Drive Food Pantry Demand.” Feeding America, 2025. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin

  • Marquette University, Iggy’s Market. “Hunger in Milwaukee.” Marquette University. Marquette University

  • MKE Elevate. Nutrition and Physical Activity Issue Brief. City of Milwaukee, Feb. 2023. City of Milwaukee

  • Wisconsin Policy Forum. Focus: FoodShare in Milwaukee County. June 2024. wispolicyforum.org

  • Children’s Wisconsin. Milwaukee Assessment: Community Health Needs, 2022. Children's Wisconsin

  • Stacker. “Food Insecurity Rates in Milwaukee County, WI.” Stacker, July 13, 2023.