ANNUAL REPOR T
2015
TOGETHER
“We must work
together to address the root causes of hunger.”
D
riven by our new mission to solve hunger and our vision of a hungerfree Wisconsin, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is bringing more people together around the table to address the root causes of hunger. We are working toward innovative solutions that will enable us to bring fresh, healthy and nutritious food to those in need. A new strategic plan, adopted in September 2015, serves as our road map as we continue to work with our partners and communities to:
»p rovide quality food to those in need; »a ddress and collaboratively solve the underlying causes of food insecurity; »a dvocate, educate and innovate on behalf of those we serve; and »c reate a culture of excellence, generosity, sustainability and efficiency.
To read our entire strategic plan, please go to www.FeedingAmericaWI.org
Dear Friends,
T
he past year has been an exceptionally
exciting time at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
In January, we welcomed Charles P. McLimans as
the new president and CEO. When the board met Charles we knew we had found an accomplished leader with the experience and vision to take Feeding America into the future. We were right. Since joining us a year ago, Charles has Ted Balistreri Chairman, Board of Directors
strengthened the leadership team and has led us through a transformational strategic planning
WISCONSIN
HUNGER-FREE
process that has resulted in a bold new mission and vision for the future. We’ve opened a new facility in the Fox Valley that will allow us to find new, innovative ways to better serve our partners and our communities. We’re engaging the community and raising awareness. And we’re just getting started. Thank you for joining us on this journey and for your continued support.
T
hank you for welcoming me back to my home
state! Having grown up on a dairy farm in southwestern Wisconsin, it is my honor to lead
the Badger state’s largest hunger-relief organization. I am proud of what we have already
accomplished together. We are changing the conversation around hunger and putting plans and policies in place that will allow us to realize our vision of a hunger-free Wisconsin. We are continuing to provide increased access to healthy, nutritious food and are working to strengthen collaboration around the four pillars of household stability - food, health, housing and employment. We are investing in innovative solutions to address hunger; we are implementing educational programming that places an emphasis on making our communities healthier; and we are advocating on behalf of all those we serve. As always, we remain committed to best practices in philanthropy to ensure your investment has the greatest possible impact. Thank you for placing your trust in me. I look forward to the future as we work together to solve hunger.
Charles P. McLimans President /CEO
S ER V E
Together we’re increasing access to healthy food “Children are receiving food. That makes my heart happy.” At the top of Sherrie Hopkins’ bucket list was the dream of establishing a food pantry at Dr. Jones Elementary School in Racine, where she serves as principal. But the building is far from the bus line and hard for families to access. About a mile away, Leisa HallDriver watched helplessly as hungry children came into the Dr. John Bryant Community Center after school. “Hungry children can’t learn. I really wanted to do something,” says Hall-Driver, who directs the center. The two women joined forces to make the Racine Area School Pantry a reality. Every month, dozens of community volunteers gather at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center to help distribute thousands of pounds of food provided by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
1 in 5
children
in eastern Wisconsin do not have enough food to eat
“Our community and Feeding America came together to make a difference in the lives of children.” — Leisa Hall-Driver, Director, Dr. John Bryant Community Center
300+ families
are served each month by the Racine Area School Pantry
x2 32 food distributions were held at schools in Milwaukee, Racine and Green Bay
Feeding America distributed 678,769 pounds* of food to Racine County last year *More than the approximate weight of two adult blue whales (300,000 lbs. each)
“I’m so grateful to Feeding America for this food.” – Doris, Milwaukee
S OLV E
Together we’re improving the health of our community “I want to eat healthy so I can be around for my family.”
“You can tell people they need to eat well, but if you give them access to nutritious food and show them how to cook it, that makes all the difference.” — Julia Means, RN, Columbia St. Mary’s/Ebenezer Church parish nurse and founder of the diabetic-friendly food pantry
Once a month, Doris pushes her cart across the street to Ebenezer Church and fills it with fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It’s food that isn’t readily available in Doris’ neighborhood, but it’s food that is essential to helping her manage her high blood pressure. While she waits for her number to be called, Doris watches intently as a nutritionist demonstrates how to use the foods she will receive to prepare healthy meals. It’s all part of the wrap-around services provided at the diabetic-friendly food pantry, a collaborative effort between Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Columbia St. Mary’s. “I feel so much better since coming here; just relieved of stress and depression,” says the 65-year-old grandmother and greatgrandmother.
1,000 people
receive healthy and nutritious food from the diabetic-friendly food pantry each month
31% of client households have a member with diabetes
55% of client households have a member with high blood pressure
vs.
+
67% of households choose between paying for food and paying for medicine/medical care
LE AD Together we’re changing the conversation through innovation “So many problems get solved around the kitchen table.” Amazing things happen in the kitchen. “People who cook and eat together are more open, connected and creative,” says Patti Habeck, executive vice president for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “Communication is improved. Problems are solved.” So when Feeding America began to tackle the complex issue of mental health and hunger, they took the conversation to the kitchen, not the boardroom. As the eclectic group of community members prepared omelets together, a deep, rich conversation and sharing of stories occurred. “The topic is so important that we needed to look for answers in a new way,” says Habeck. The approach is producing results. The group will launch its first initiative in 2016 — a “Fast Pass” program that will allow mental health professionals to refer patients in need of hunger-relief services to major pantries. The program will allow individuals to access healthy, nutritious food more easily by bypassing typical pantry vetting procedures.
chronically hungry have higher rates of depression and anxiety.”
“Children who are
— American Academy of Pediatrics
“There’s no pressure of the board room. The conversation just happens and the ideas just flow. Nobody’s doing anything like this. It’s brilliant!” — Mary Harp-Jirschele, President, J. J. Keller Foundation, Inc.
AD VANCE
“People want to do business with a company that has similar values and that gives back to the community and its people.”
— Bill Bohn, Executive Vice President
of Private Client & Institutional Services, Associated Bank
Together we’re building a network of strong support “Our roots, our culture are very local. We take that very personally.” As a “really big community bank,” Associated Bank is “large enough to leverage resources, but small enough to take it down to the granular level.” That’s exactly how Bill Bohn sees Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. It’s part of the reason he personally joined the organization in its mission to solve hunger. At its core, he said, Feeding America is a local food bank with access to a larger network of resources, serving people at a local level. Add to that the organization’s record of efficiency and its commitment to collaboration and you have the unique combination that Bohn says he and his Associated Bank colleagues were looking for in a charitable partner. “There is nothing more basic in terms of people’s needs than food,” says Bohn.
550
volunteer hours were donated by Associated Bank employees
19,000
meals in food and funds were collected at 114 bank branches during Food For The Holidays
I
t all began in 1982 with a bushel of apples and a commitment from the Rotary Club of Milwaukee to bridge the gap between hunger and waste. Today, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest hungerrelief organization in Wisconsin, operating food banks in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley. By working collaboratively with hunger-relief partners, community leaders, schools and faith-based organizations, we can ensure people not only have enough healthy food to eat but also have the ability to build a pathway to stability.
2,879,805
pounds of food was provided directly to our partners from 235 retailers through our Direct Connect Program.
19,371
24,392,152 pounds = 12,196 tons = 2,710 elephants (that’s a lot of elephants)
24,392,152 pounds of food was distributed through
550 partners in 36 counties 116 mobile pantries were held at 64 locations across eastern Wisconsin
6,577 volunteers contributed a total of
19,371 hours to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
20.3 million 9
10
meals provided to
1
8
2
7
3 6
5
4
1.2 lbs of food = 1 meal
67,000 meals provided each day
377,000 people
15,032,128 pounds of fresh produce, meat and dairy was collected through the Fresh Rescue program, providing
12.5
million healthy, nutritious meals.
Feed Your Soul “Find the uniqueness in what you do and share it with people.”
A
fter one visit to a local food pantry, Jeremy Shamrowicz knew he wanted to help. Nobody’s bowl, he thought, should ever be empty. So when friends from the design/ build community decided to collaborate on a unique event to support Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Jeremy jumped at the chance to host it at his studio, Flux Design. Drawing on their unique talents, the group of artists, designers and craftsman turned to a simple empty wooden bowl – a symbol of hunger – for inspiration. Each would transform the bowl into a one-of-a-kind piece of art to be auctioned during the trendy event. Over the past 12 years, “Feed Your Soul” has raised $400,000 for hunger-relief in eastern Wisconsin.
“By taking a simple empty wooden bowl and transforming it into art, we create an awareness of how things can move and change.” — Jeremy Shamrowicz, co-founder of Flux Design, a custom design/build firm in Milwaukee
Hope in the Heart of the Fox Valley
E
very day, thousands of pounds of food flow from the 40,000-square-foot Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin food bank, just off Hwy. 41 in the heart of the Fox Valley. That food makes its way to more than 200 food pantries, shelters and meal programs throughout northeast Wisconsin and onto
the tables of families and individuals who otherwise would not have enough to eat. The state-of-the-art food bank, which opened its doors Nov. 1, 2015, is a center of collaboration, innovation and hope that is bringing people together to solve hunger. “This food bank is highly efficient and collaborative and is designed to house the freshest and most nutritious food resources,” said Charles McLimans, president/CEO of Feeding America. “Working together with our community, we are moving the needle on hunger.”
2015 – 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS Chairman Ted Balistreri, President, Co-Owner, Sendik’s Food Markets
Chairman-Elect William M. Bohn,
Together we’re committed to fiscal responsibility and transparency
Executive Vice President of Private Client & Institutional Services, Associated Bank
REVENUE & OTHER SUPPORT 12% 2%
85%
Vice Chairman Andy Schlesinger,
2%
President, Andrew Automotive Group
Charles P. McLimans, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
BOARD MEMBERS Christopher M. Abbott, Health Plan CEO, UnitedHealthcare
William B. Coleman, President, Coleman & Williams, LTD
$48,652,383
Mitchel Cox, President and Partner,
$6,587,010
$940,772
Total Support (food and funds): $57,424,692
Transworld Business Advisors Milwaukee
Donald Fitzgerald, Group Vice President, Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer, Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc.
EXPENSES 2%
97%
Michael M. Fordney, Managing
Royce Miles, Executive Vice President / General Manager, Journal Media Group Cindy Moon-Mogush, Chief Marketing Officer, Aurora Health Care, Inc. Alan Petelinsek, Owner, Power Test, Inc.
Todd Peterson, Retail - Regional General Manager, Walmart
Joan Phillips, Partner, Deloitte David Remstad, Vice President & Chief Actuary, Northwestern Mutual
John Rusiniak, Vice President Quality
Fundraising
Harry J. Metrusias
Program Services
Director, Food & Consumer Group, BMO Harris Bank
Ann M. Maher, Shareholder, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.
$1,244,527
$54,298,807
1% General & Administrative
President /CEO
Contributions
Vice President Finance and Information Services, Evergreen Retirement Community
Donated Food
Treasurer John M. Krueger,
Other
Shared Maintenance
Secretary Sally Piefer, Employment Attorney, The Schroeder Group
$1,282,136
$534,084
Total Expenses: $56,115,027
and Product Safety, Lakeside Foods
$1 = 3 meals
Len Stecklein, retired executive Azad J. Virani, Sr. Vice President / Head of Private & Community Banks, U.S. Bank
STAFF LEADERSHIP Charles McLimans, President/CEO Patti Habeck, Executive Vice President Ossie Kendrix, Vice President Jennifer Allison, Chief Financial Officer Rayna Andrews, Director of Community Engagement
Lori Holly, Director of Marketing & Communications
Ann Marie Moss, Director of Development
Alex Tyink, Director of Innovation Jeff Kujawa, Operations Manager Terri Torbeck, Human Resource Manager
Ross Younger, Food Resource Manager
97 cents
of every dollar goes directly to supporting hunger-relief programs
ACCREDITED CHARITY
wisconsin.bbb.org
MISSION VISION CORE VALUES
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
To solve hunger. A hunger-free Wisconsin. > > > > > >
Collaboration Commitment Compassion Dignity Innovation Sustainability
We believe … … together we can solve hunger. … access to nutritious food is a right for all. … all people deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion. … collaboration with partners throughout our community leads to innovative solutions. … our people are our most valuable asset. … in fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability.
A Member of Feeding America
Milwaukee
Fox Valley
1700 W. Fond du Lac Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53205 414.931.7400
2911 W. Evergreen Drive Appleton, WI 54913 920.202.3608
feedingamericawi.org