Milwaukee-based Fein Brothers, a supplier of new and used food service equipment, will spend much of the next two months rallying community and corporate support for the first of its kind “Soup Kitchen Makeover.”
The philanthropic campaign, to be launched April 1 in honor of the company’s 85th anniversary, will donate kitchen utensils to area nonprofit meal sites and will also award a nearly $10,000 kitchen makeover to at least one organization.
“We just believe for a company that’s been in business for 85 years, it just seems really appropriate to give back to the community that has supported us for so many years,” said Todd Minkin, owner of Fein Brothers, which is located at 2007 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
After building a team of corporate sponsors to help fund the drive and makeover, Fein Brothers is calling out to nonprofit meal sites and programs in southeastern Wisconsin to encourage them to apply.
Each nonprofit that applies online through May will receive kitchen supplies and will be entered for a chance to win the kitchen makeover, which will outfit one or two nonprofit organizations with new appliances, such as ovens, stoves, refrigerators and stainless steel tables. Fein Brothers does not plan to cap the number of nonprofit participants.
A panel of judges comprised of Fein Brothers staff members and philanthropic sponsors will select the nonprofits to be awarded the kitchen makeover in June. Their decision will be driven by factors such as nonprofits’ level of need, the number of meals they provide, and their written statements detailing why they believe they should be eligible for the makeover.
Fein Brothers is also calling out to the community with a need for donations of new and gently used kitchen utensils to benefit nonprofits involved.
The “Soup Kitchen Makeover” was conceived by Fein Brothers’ staff of 15 and falls in line with its industry, Minkin said.
“It’s obviously very fitting for us, and we know that there are some organizations that are in need of new equipment and supplies and because these organizations work on tight budgets and they feed people that have little to no money, we just felt that this was a really good cause,” Minkin said.
He hopes the “Soup Kitchen Makeover” will become an annual staple of Fein Brothers’ philanthropic efforts.
“We just really hope to make an impact on several meal sites but to (also) make a major impact on one and hopefully be able to help others in the future either by another makeover in a year or by just rallying public awareness and getting people to donate time to help out in these nonprofit centers,” Minkin said.
