When Milwaukee resident Zakiya Courtney saw a Facebook post advertising free grocery vouchers for food assistance recipients, she knew to drag her family members out to Fondy Farmers Market on Nov. 1.
Courtney, a 72-year-old retired educator, does not qualify for food aid under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), known as FoodShare in Wisconsin. But her sister and nephew do, and they are two of nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites stuck in limbo after monthly food assistance payments did not go out Nov. 1.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a $5.25 billion SNAP contingency fund intended to keep the program running in the event funding dried up, but President Donald Trump’s administration argued that money could not be released during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Two federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled Oct. 31 that the Trump administration must use the contingency fund to resume SNAP payments, though they indicated the administration could reduce benefits or shuffle other money around to fund the program during the shutdown. The rulings gave administration officials until Nov. 3 to report back.
In the meantime, residents and community organizations are left to help SNAP recipients in their neighborhood get though an uncertain few weeks. Food pantry networks, including Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, are running food drives throughout Milwaukee and accepting food or monetary donations.
Fondy Farmers Market, located at 2200 W. Fond du Lac Ave., provided $20 in free groceries Nov. 1 for every customer participating in FoodShare. Shoppers showed their QUEST card, the debit card associated with FoodShare, and received a voucher for produce at the market. The market gave out another $10 for residents of certain Milwaukee ZIP codes.
“This is something that we just felt was so needed within the community, especially today, with people feeling uncertain about food security,” said Jazmin Wong, coordinator of Fondy’s Milwaukee Market Match program.
Fondy serves a high volume of FoodShare participants. It’s part of the Milwaukee Market Match program, which allows shoppers to match up to $30 in FoodShare they spend on produce at participating local farmers markets.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Market Match program served around 2,000 to 4,000 people per season, according to Wong. This year, Fondy had an estimated $180,000 match amount.
But Nov. 1 was a much busier Saturday than the market typically sees after Halloween, Wong said.
‘People are fearful and panicky’
Courtney also serves as a volunteer chef at Tricklebee Cafe, a pay-what-you-can community restaurant on North Avenue in Sherman Park. On Oct. 31, she said she served more than 100 people, considerably more than she does on a typical Friday.
“People are fearful and panicky,” Courtney said. “It’s going to be an undue burden.”
Bob Craig, 66, runs Craigland Farms in Mukwonago and has served as a Fondy Farmers Market vendor for 24 years. Nearly half of his income comes from FoodShare and other food assistance programs, he said.
Craig knows the regulars and what they usually buy from him. He noticed that in recent weeks, they’ve become more conservative with what they purchase as they’re “budgeting, and trying to make it last.”
“A lot of people look down at the program as a big giveaway to everybody, but it trickles right down, Craig said. “Whatever we get, we’re going to spend on repairs and whatnot, and it goes back through the communities.”
On Oct. 31, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency over the government shutdown’s halting of FoodShare payments. Evers ordered state agencies to ensure all resources possible are available to residents, suspend rules impeding the state’s response to the emergency and police price gouging.
But much of the burden still falls on local organizations, who lack the vast resources of the state and federal government.
Fondy Farmers Market dipped into its operating budget to provide the free $20 vouchers, but that’s not sustainable long-term. Fondy is open two more Saturdays before ending its 2025 season, Wong said, and staff don’t yet have a plan for those days.
“We’re kind of taking it week by week right now with the current news and the current situation,” Wong said.
