Meeting the Needs of Our Community
Here at Outpost Natural Foods, it’s important for us to support the community that we’re a part of. That’s why we created Operation Community! Through Operation Community we donate quality natural food to local food banks. Throughout winter, we donate warm hats, scarves and mittens to needy children with our Kids Winter Clothing Drive. And we make a donation to a different non-profit community organization every month!
You can get involved too by purchasing a bag of Food for the Hungry. Every November and December, you can buy a shopping bag filled with $40 - $50 worth of nutritious food for only $20. With the help of the Hunger Task Force of Greater Milwaukee those bags get filled at the end of December and dispersed to those most in need of help through the holidays. In 2005, we donated over $25,000 worth of food to the Hunger Task Force of Greater Milwaukee through this program.
Community Wednesdays, food pantry donations, and our Kids Warm Winter Clothing Drive are just a few of the ways that we give back to our community. After all, its part of our mission here at Outpost Natural Foods to be a community resource that promotes healthful living. And healthful living doesn’t happen unless your basic needs are met first.
For more information about any of the programs listed, please contact our marketing department at (414) 431-3377 or contact Margaret Bert, Director of Communications at margaret@outpostnaturalfoods.coop.
About the Coop Community Fund
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Together we can help save our family farms!The Outpost Cooperative Community Fund is a non-profit endowment that helps small farmers with the costs of organic certification. It's easy to help!
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Community Wednesdays Organizations 2010
January
Outpost Cooperative Community Fund
The Outpost Cooperative Community Fund is an endowment fund administered through the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation. Interest earned each year is donated to non-profits in the local community. The Foundation supports the growth and development of cooperative businesses nationwide. Help Outpost continue its legacy of community giving! Donations are tax-deductable.
www.community.coop
February
Wellspring
Wellspring is an educational organization, a retreat center and an organic farm where people are taught how to grow food organically, make healthy food choices and see the link between healthy bodies and a healthy planet Earth. Wellspring provides nutritious, local and fresh produce to families through its CSA program.
March
Riveredge Nature Center
Riveredge provides opportunities for students of all ages to better understand and appreciate the natural world. Over 8000 children participate in science-based school programs each year, and we offer workshops and programs for the entire family. Our 370 acre sanctuary has 10 miles of trails open to the public in all seasons.
April
Milwaukee Urban Gardens
Milwaukee Urban Gardens is an urban land trust dedicated to protecting and creating community gardens. Since October 2000, MUG has transformed nine vacant city lots into vibrant gardens and has assisted hundreds of organizations, neighborhoods and individuals in starting gardens to increase food security and build community.
May
Veterans For Peace
Veterans For Peace is a small organization advocating for veterans who are either displaced, homeless or at risk for homelessness. Their unique way of seeking out veterans in need and sticking with them has brought them tremendous success. No veteran should have to sleep on the street.
June
Literacy Services of Wisconsin
For 45 years, Literacy Services of Wisconsin has provided expert tutoring for undereducated adults in the Greater Milwaukee area. Their core programs are adult basic education (learning to read), general equivalency degree (GED) preparation and English as a second language. Motivated students attend at no cost.
July
The Campus Kitchen at Marquette
The Campus Kitchen at Marquette is an innovative student-run anti-hunger program. Student volunteers lead food recovery efforts, hunger outreach activities and culinary job training initiatives while reducing food waste on campus and in the community. The Campus Kitchen provides approximately 3000 meals per month to in-need individuals in Milwaukee.
August
Health Care for the Homeless of Milwaukee
(414)374-7909
Health Care for the Homeless strives to ensure that men, women and children in the Greater Milwaukee area who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, will receive the quality health care, housing, and supportive services they need in order to live at the highest possible level of self-sufficiency.
September
Milwaukee Empty Bowls
Milwaukee Empty Bowls started in 1999 with the concept of providing support for food banks, soup kitchens and other organizations that fight hunger. Through the commitment and services of over 300 community volunteers, artists and restaurants, the sale of handcrafted ceramic bowls, soups and breads, and the estimated 1200 people who attend, MEB’s annual fundraising event has been a great success.
October
Cathedral Center
The Cathedral Center is a nonsectarian agency dedicated to providing safe shelter to single women and families facing a housing crisis while working to end homelessness, one life at a time. Founded in 2002, the Cathedral Center provides emergency shelter and case management services.
November
Hunger Task Force
Hunger Task Force operates a locally established and community supported food bank that distributes food, at no charge, to qualified food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters. They also use the knowledge gained from serving the poor to identify issues and advance public policy to reduce hunger in Milwaukee.
December
The Parenting Network
Since 1977, The Parenting Network has served Milwaukee County with the mission to strengthen parenting and to prevent child abuse. Programs include 24/7 Parent Helpline, parenting education and support classes, and individualized care management and home visiting services for at-risk families. Additionally, the agency facilitates teen pregnancy and violence prevention programming for adolescents.
Our Donation Policy
At Outpost Natural Foods, we believe that a healthy happy community depends on everyone being a good neighbor. It is part of our cooperative spirit. In addition to Community Wednesdays, Think Outside the Lunchbox Summer Food Drive, Holiday Buy-A-Bag Program and the Kid’s Winter Clothing Drive, Outpost contributes to a host of local non-profit organizations throughout the year.
If your organization would like to request a donation from Outpost, it's purpose must fit within the Outpost donation guidelines and and an Outpost donation application must be filled out (see below). Requests will be considered only with an Outpost application.
While we will try to accommodate as many requests as possible, Outpost reserves the right to decline donation requests if the guidelines are not met, for budgetary reasons, or if an organization’s stated mission or goals is in conflict with Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative or the International Principles of Cooperation.
Please send applications to
Outpost Natural Foods
Attn: Donations
205 W. Highland Ave. Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Fax: 414-431-4522
You may also drop off completed applications to any Outpost Natural Foods customer service desk.
For more information
donations@outpostnaturalfoods.coop