FoodShare Resources
Receive Help With Your FoodShare Benefits
Food is a Human Right.
FoodShare is a federal program and Wisconsin’s first line of defense against hunger. Funded 100% by the USDA, FoodShare is an entitlement program, meaning it assists people who have low incomes and difficulty affording food to get monthly help to make ends meet.
FoodShare provides food buying power at the grocery store through an EBT card called Quest. Eligibility is based on household income, size and shelter costs. You can apply online, over the phone, by mail or receive in-person help.
The application will open in a new window through the State of Wisconsin website.
Stay Up-to-Date With FoodShare News and Updates!
Stay informed to make the most of your benefits. Keep up with important updates, policy changes and news related to FoodShare and Summer EBT benefits.
1) Receive Assistance In-Person
You can apply over the telephone, using a computer, by mail or by visiting either the traditional welfare office or one of our self-help centers. Hunger Task Force staff can help you by providing fast and friendly care!
All Hunger Task Force services are free. Connect one-on-one with our FoodShare Advocates to apply for benefits in about 15 minutes. Our team serves tens of thousands of people every year, both in-person and over the phone.
Hunger Task Force staff speak English, Spanish, Hmong, Lao, Karen, Burmese, Pashto and Dari.
2) Apply For & Manage Benefits Online
You can apply for FoodShare, manage your case, check your balance and submit documents online at access.wisconsin.gov. If you are unemployed, we encourage you to apply for both Unemployment and FoodShare.
You can apply online, complete your eligibility interview over the phone and use the MyACCESS app on your smart phone to upload required proof called “verification” and manage benefits.
TWO LOCATIONS, NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED!
Alicia’s Place FoodShare Resource Center
4144 N. 56th Street, Midtown Center
414.988.6501
Robles FoodShare Resource Center
723 W. Historic Mitchell Street
414.238.6484
See If You Can Get Help!
Answer a few questions to learn which programs may be able to help you.
Wisconsin has many different programs that can help you with health care coverage, paying for food or child care costs, finding a job, and more.
The questionaire will open in a new window through the State of Wisconsin website.
Help For Seniors
Hunger Task Force helps connect low- income seniors to programs that provide access to healthy foods.
Help For Children
In Wisconsin, 1 in 8 children face hunger. Participation in child nutrition programs has been found to reduce food insecurity.
Help For Individuals
Hunger Task Force helps connect low-income individuals to programs that provide access to healthy foods.
Tips for protecting your FoodShare benefits:
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- Monitor account balances on the MyACCESS mobile app or ebtEDGE website or mobile app.
- Add or change optional account passwords to limit unauthorized access.
- Do not share account passwords and PINs with anyone who is not part of your household.
- Create unique account passwords and PINs.
- Avoid using email addresses and the names of family members and pets for passwords.
- Avoid using your birth date and year, as well as repeating numbers, such as 1111, numbers in a row, like 2345, and numbers that follow a pattern, like 1212, for PINs.
- Temporarily freeze QUEST cards between uses by using the ebtEDGE website or mobile app. When members need to purchase food, they will need to unfreeze their cards using the ebtEDGE website or mobile app. This helps prevent unauthorized benefit use.
- Block out-of-state and online purchases. Members can turn off this feature before traveling out of state or shopping for groceries online.
- Confirm that an email or text about your FoodShare benefits is from DHS, not a scammer. DHS sends official FoodShare texts from 94347 (WI DHS) and emails from [email protected]. DHS FoodShare texts and emails never ask members for personal information, such as a birthday or Social Security number, or financial information, like a bank account or credit card number. DHS does not offer prizes or money to members for responding to these texts and emails.
Who you should call if you have questions about your FoodShare benefits or to report suspicious account activity?
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- Check your FoodShare card balance by calling QUEST Card Service at 877-415-5164 or using the MyACCESS mobile app, ebtEDGE website, or ebtEDGE mobile app. Using only these tools to check your card balance helps prevent unauthorized card access.
- Call your local agency to ask about suspicious FoodShare account activity, check account information, establish an account password, and ask general benefit questions.
- Call QUEST Card Service 24/7 to change PINs, immediately report lost or stolen cards, and to report suspicious FoodShare acount activity outside of your local agency’s business hours.
- Report any emails or texts about your FoodShare benefits that are not sent to you by DHS to the agency that issues your benefits and Wisconsin’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-422-7128 or [email protected]. This hotline is run by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Be sure to avoid clicking any links in the email or text message or calling the phone number that sent you the text message or any phone number in the message.
Food is a human right. Know your rights.
FoodShare will have work requirements.
Work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) are coming back – but you may be eligible for an exemption.
Some FoodShare household members may have to follow FoodShare basic work rules or meet the FoodShare work requirement to keep getting FoodShare benefits.
Over the last three years, these requirements have been waived in coordination with the Public Health Emergency. This pause in work requirements has now ended.
Starting in October 2024, if you’re between the ages of 18-54 without a dependent, your FoodShare will have time limits that may cause you to lose your benefits for up to three years.
For assistance, contact Milwaukee Enrollment Services (Milwaukee County residents) at (888) 947-6583. If you’re not a resident of Milwaukee County, find your local agency HERE.
Our FoodShare Advocates are trained to help you navigate and maintain your FoodShare benefits. Visit or call one of our FoodShare Resource Centers for help. LEARN MORE
Printable Resources
These resources provide helpful information in an easy-to-read, printable format to share. Learn more about Emergency FoodShare benefits, how to apply and information about the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program with the flyers below, available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Burmese and other languages.
Video Resources
SNAP (the federal term for FoodShare) is hands-down, the best anti-hunger program in the nation. For more than 40 years, it has proven over and over to respond to economic crises, so if families lose work, they’ll still have some help putting food on the table.
FoodShare News & Stories
Meet the new faces of Hunger Task Force
The principal strength of Hunger Task Force is its compassionate and committed staff. As an anti-hunger organization, Hunger Task Force commits to hiring staff with an array of skills, talents and the cultural competence to best serve our diverse community. Hunger...
Speaking Your Language for Help
Working full-time with two young boys, a child on the way and a child off at college, Sue Vang understands the value and support that family and community members have in each other's lives. Seven years ago, when Sue was in need of resources for her family, she...
Everyone knew extra federal food stamp allotments would end. But the timing couldn’t be worse.
Story by: Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal SentinelEbony Williams, 30, and her daughter Schyrinity, 11, stood in the lobby of the Despensa De La Paz food pantry on a cold January Saturday, quietly watching as people bustled past them and into a packed waiting room....
Hunger Task Force prepares families and seniors for the ending of extra FoodShare COVID-19 pandemic payments
Due to Federal Action, the Last Extra FoodShare COVID-19 Pandemic Payment is February 19, 2023. Hunger Task Force will begin preparing families and seniors for the ending of extra FoodShare COVID-19 pandemic benefits. On Friday, January 13, 2023, the Wisconsin...
Food is a Human Right: Hunger Persists in Wisconsin
Hunger persists in Wisconsin. Throughout the pandemic, a good deal of federal financial assistance streamed to states and communities to address the pandemic’s impact on unemployment, supply chain interruptions and inflation. Free food provided by charities won’t...
Local Mother Finds FoodShare is a Blessing During the Holidays
Growing up, Nanette learned the value of giving back to her community. Up until her early adult years, Nanette volunteered at the food pantry and soup kitchen in her community, not knowing that she would one day depend on these resources to make ends meet. When a...