Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the Feeding America member food bank for the eastern half of the state. From locations in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley it supplies roughly 370 food pantries, shelters, and meal programs, and it distributed more than 38 million pounds of food in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, it holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating. Patti Dew became interim President and CEO in December 2025, after Patti Habeck left to lead a regional economic-development organization.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin sources food at scale and distributes it through roughly 370 partner pantries, shelters, and meal programs across the eastern half of the state, operating from hubs in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley. As the Feeding America member for the region, it connects local pantries to the national supply chain while running its own programs for children, seniors, and rural communities.
The organization is in a leadership transition. Patti Habeck, who served as President and CEO since 2011, left in December 2025 to become head of a regional economic-development group, and the board named Patti Dew as interim President and CEO while it searches for a permanent successor. The handover came amid rising demand and the federal food-program changes affecting food banks nationwide.
The service area covers eastern Wisconsin, from metropolitan Milwaukee north through the Fox Valley around Appleton and Green Bay. It mixes the state’s largest urban population with smaller cities and rural counties, each with its own pattern of need.
Yes. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member with a four-star Charity Navigator rating, the highest available. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through feedingamericawi.org. Volunteers sort and pack food at the Milwaukee and Fox Valley facilities, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the Feeding America member for the eastern half of the state. Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee County’s independent free-and-local food bank, and Second Harvest of Southern Wisconsin covers the Madison region. For most of eastern Wisconsin outside Milwaukee County, this is the lead organization.
~370 pantries, shelters, and programs across eastern Wisconsin.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food assistance for older adults on fixed incomes.
Food brought into rural and underserved communities.
Sources: Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin website (feedingamericawi.org), Charity Navigator (EIN 39-1384593), and BizTimes reporting on the appointment of interim CEO Patti Dew. We are not affiliated with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More Wisconsin and food-bank resources