Milwaukee LVCer Hannah Uitenbroek is working at All Peoples Church as their Food Justice Organizer. Hannah shares the following about her year:
“Working as the Food Justice Organizer at All Peoples Church, I have had the privilege of entering into a church community and the community of Milwaukee. I was dealing with my own anxiety and depression. At the church, the gospel music struck my heart and soul and people were kind to the new person that was assigned to them for a year. Two weeks into being in Milwaukee, the riots in Sherman Park occurred after Sylville Smith, another black man, was killed by police. Things are not how it ought to be. That is something that almost everyone can agree upon.
In my work as Food Justice Organizer, I have learned that all work is intersectional work. I cannot work for ‘food justice’ without acknowledging how racial redlining has split up neighborhoods. That has created those who have grocery stores close filled with quality affordable produce and those who have corner stores mostly stocked with things that can sit on a shelf longer than a week.
I also have learned how grassroots organizations are meeting the needs of the heart and souls of people. It’s a beautiful thing. The struggle is real. It is a struggle that I personally have been privileged enough to not know too long, but long enough to know that it is absolute necessary right now, wherever we are. That may seem like a lot of pressure to people but, no worries, God meets us where we are at in the depth of our hearts, minds and souls. I just say, start there. ”
Hannah is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and is from Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Photo by David Nunley.