Center for Veterans Issues and Hunger Task Force Partner to Provide Free and Healthy Meals to Hundreds of Unhoused Veterans

For more than 23 years, Hunger Task Force and Dr. Berdie Cowser, Vice President of Housing and Development at Center for Veterans Issues (CVI), have worked together to ensure local unhoused veterans have access to free and healthy food. In 2023, CVI used free and nutritious food received from Hunger Task Force to prepare three nutritious meals each day for more than 220 unhoused veterans through the organization’s Transitional Housing Program.

“As a veteran myself, it’s an honor to help fellow service members through my role at the Center for Veterans issues where I’ve partnered with Hunger Task Force to provide free and healthy food during my entire tenure,” said Berdie Cowser, Vice President of Housing and Development for CVI. “It’s more of a ministry than a job, and I get joy for the mere fact that I get up every morning and have the privilege of serving veterans who do not have all the family and resources that others have.”

Berdie was hired by the founders of Center for Veterans Issues to carry out their legacy of providing housing and supportive services to improve the quality of life for all veterans and address problems harming low-income veterans and their families. She notes that the partnership with Hunger Task Force enables CVI to dedicate financial resources to expand its breadth of services for low-income veterans. In fact, over the last year, the organization has saved nearly $24,000 on food costs.

“Costs for us have nearly doubled. I am just so grateful that CVI is in your good graces and Hunger Task Force continues to help us defray those costs so providing food to our veterans in need doesn’t become a financial burden for us,” adds Berdie.

In addition to providing healthy food free of charge, Hunger Task Force works to connect many unhoused veterans, ages 60+, served by CVI with a Stockbox – a monthly box of supplementary food for low-income seniors packed with healthy breakfast cereal, milk, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta or rice, protein, fruit juice, canned meats and two pounds of Wisconsin cheese.

Hunger Task Force is proud to be the only food bank in Milwaukee that does not charge for food, delivery or network membership and works diligently to those in need can receive emergency food with dignity, on the day they need it and in the neighborhood they live in.

Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee’s Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader. The organization’s core values are Dignity, Justice, Equity, Compassion and Stewardship. Hunger Task Force feeds people today by providing healthy and culturally appropriate food to hungry children, families and seniors in the community absolutely free of charge. Hunger Task Force also works to end future hunger by advocating for strong public policies and nutrition programs at the local, state and federal level.