"Food for the Holidays" campaign launched by Feeding America

Just a little bit ago on Fox 6 Now, we were joined with our reporter Andrew Amuzu, of course, recapping some of the many stories that he covered for us this morning, including the launch of the Food for the Holidays campaign. So I want to go ahead and bring in Cameron Wenjin here with Feeding America, southeastern Wisconsin. Cameron, thank you so much for taking a couple minutes to chat with us here. Thanks for having me, Haley. Of course. I know it's an exciting day for you guys as you launch the annual Food for the Holidays campaign. What do we need to know here? How can we help out? Food for the Holidays is our annual fundraising campaign that runs the month of November all the way through December 31st, and essentially just raising money so that we can provide food to families facing hunger around the holiday season. It's a hard time for everyone, and then you look at inflation, gas prices, just what it costs at the grocery store to feed your family. And it's affecting everyone across the state. So it is our responsibility to try to provide as much food to those that need a little extra help, especially during the holiday season, as we can. And we do that through the Food for the Holidays campaign and raising those monetary donations. Yeah, absolutely. And talk to me a little more about what that need looks like here in our community, because I think sometimes you think, oh, everyone's set here. We're doing just fine. And then when you learn the statistics, it's heartbreaking, really. Right. Our pantry partners, not only in Milwaukee County, but across our eastern Wisconsin footprint, are seeing anywhere from a 30 to 40 percent increase in visitors from this time last year. And so that is a substantial increase for them. And it's a lot of hard work for them to keep food on the shelves to feed those visitors and support the increase in visitors that is. into all the different food pantries. So the Food for the Holidays campaign definitely helps out in terms of providing a little bit of relief to our pantry partners so they can continue to provide the food assistance to those that come in and need the help of the food pantry. Absolutely. And I know today there was some boxes being packed, of course, volunteering one way we can certainly help out. But I also know right now, if we give financially, our dollars are going to be matched through the end of the year. Tell me more about that. What an amazing opportunity. We had a generous donor step up and say, I want to match dollar for dollar every single monetary donation that comes in for the entire Food for the Holidays campaign. So not a threshold there, not a certain timeline to meet. Willing to match every single dollar donation through the end of this campaign, which is just, we couldn't ask for a more generous gift, especially as we get close to the holidays and when we think about the meaning of the holidays for many of us. And it definitely helps out. Right. So your one dollar donation, not only does it equal three meals for a family in need, but that's going to double. So now you're talking six meals for every dollar that you're donating to the Food for the Holidays campaign. Hold on. I feel like we need to pause here. A one dollar donation covers three meals for a family. That's incredible. It definitely is. So thanks to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin's bulk buying power, we purchase everything in bulk. So we're able to stretch a dollar way further than you can just at the grocery store buying food on your own. And so that $1 donation truly does go further when you're able to send it our way at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. I love that because, you know, I feel like sometimes people think I don't have a lot to give. It doesn't make a big impact, but, I mean, you're talking now $1 equating to six meals for a family. This is a huge impact, and the more you can give, obviously, that just grows. So, I mean, that's incredible to hear, Cameron, and obviously to your point here, made possible due to this anonymous donor. And there's just so much support here for Feeding America. Including comedian Charlie Berens, who came out today. What's it like to have him say, I want to help out, I want to support this campaign? Anyone who's seen Charlie, whether it's on TV, at a stand-up special, whatever it may be, you know how genuine he comes across, and that's exactly what we've experienced here. He believes in our mission. He loves supporting what we do, and anytime he can stop by, he'll lend a hand. And we're lucky enough that not only does he lend a hand, but he assists us in really marketing this messaging out to the community and making sure that everyone knows. how important it is to support your neighbors facing hunger, especially during the holiday season. So we are extremely grateful for Charlie's support and just the platform that he's able to provide with so many people knowing and trusting him across the state. Yeah, absolutely. Of course he's kind of using his platform for good here and we love to see that. And we can lend that same helping hand. So Cameron, just let us know how we can kind of sign up, whether it is to volunteer or to make a donation, which again is going to be matched dollar for dollar. We welcome anyone to check out our website at feedingamericawi.org. Not only can you make a donation to the Food for the Holidays campaign right there on the homepage, but you can also look into volunteer opportunities. If that's a way that you'd rather give, we have volunteer shifts throughout the week every week, and we really need those extra hands to be able to do what we do. So I encourage you to check out what opportunities there are out there and maybe bring your your friends, family, or even your coworkers to our warehouse. And know that you're making an immediate impact. Yeah, I always say, too, whenever you volunteer in that setting, it is the most fun. Like, you just are enjoying your time, and you know you're making a difference at the same time. So it's just I can't think of a better way to help out as we get ready for the holidays. And, again, if you can't give your time, give financially. It's going to make a huge difference. Anything else you wanted to mention here for the Food for the Holidays campaign? No, just thankful for the support that we've already seen. We're just a little bit over a week officially into the campaign as it kicks off at the beginning of November. But today has really been a boost for us and we've already seen the support. And so I just thank the community because we could not do what we do without the support from our community and the fact that everyone understands that we all play a part in supporting our neighbors. Absolutely and we all do play that part and it's a great opportunity to help out. So Cameron really appreciate you taking a few minutes to join us here on Fox 6 Now and again you can go to their website to sign up to volunteer or to make that donation. But how crazy to think right now for every dollar you give you're going to be providing six meals for a family. That is so cool and we can make a huge difference as we get ready for the holidays. All right.