Margaret Mittelstadt and Outpost Natural Foods’ Commitment to Ending Hunger

50 Faces. 50 Stories. 50 Years of Fighting Hunger.

Hunger Task Force is proud to be Milwaukee’s only Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader. In celebration of our 50th Anniversary, Hunger Task Force is highlighting “50 Faces of Ending Hunger,” honoring the anti-hunger heroes who champion Free & Local and support our mission to end hunger.

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For two decades, Margaret Mittelstadt, Director of Community Relations at Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative (Outpost), has been a leading force in ensuring access to healthy food for Milwaukee residents. Her work embodies the company’s mission – to foster a healthy, diverse and sustainable community.

Since the late 1990s, Outpost has partnered with Hunger Task Force and shares our goal of ending hunger. “Access to healthy food is a basic right,” emphasizes Margaret. This philosophy underpins every initiative she spearheads at Outpost, a community-owned cooperative with more than 21,000 members.

Outpost recognizes affordability as a significant barrier to healthy eating. To address this, the co-op accepts FoodShare, allowing low-income residents to better access nutritious options. To further extend grocery budgets for shoppers, Margaret helped the co-op host the “Produce to the People” program. In partnership with Hunger Task Force, the first of its kind program in Southern Wisconsin offered a 50% discount on fresh produce to shoppers using FoodShare. This initiative increased access to healthy food for low-income residents and reduced reliance on emergency food sources.

Since 2016, Margaret has served on the Hunger Task Force Executive Council. She provides strategic direction and guidance to the organization and champions a variety of programs to actively engage customers to participate in hunger relief fundraising like “Round-Up at the Register” and “Buy-A-Bag.” Through rounding up their grocery bills or purchasing pre-filled donation bags, customers have collectively raised more than $75,000 for Hunger Task Force. “It’s a collaborative effort here at Outpost,” shares Margaret.

Outpost’s support doesn’t end at the register. The co-op also donates thousands of pounds of fresh produce for Hunger Task Force’s holiday meals to ensure families have access to healthy ingredients for their celebrations.

Her 20 years at Outpost represent a continuous effort to cultivate a thriving community where healthy food is accessible to all. Through innovative programs, a robust partnership with Hunger Task Force and a focus on local sourcing, Margaret and Outpost are leading the charge. Their message is clear: a healthy community is one where everyone can nourish themselves and their families with wholesome food.

Meet the 50 Faces of Ending Hunger!

Click below to discover real people making a difference in the fight against hunger – new faces added each month! As we journey through our 50th year, keep checking back to meet more incredible individuals making a difference.