Advocate Aurora Health announced it is awarding $450,000 in grants through its Better Together Fund to the Riverwest Food Pantry and Acts Housing.
It’s the final round of grant funding in an overall $2.1 million investment that the health system announced last month.
The Milwaukee- and Downers Grove, Illinois-based health system said the funding is aimed at boosting the organizations’ food and housing efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $250,000 grant will allow the Riverwest Food Pantry to create an expanded food center that promotes habits and skills to improve dietary health and curb diabetes, expands training for culinary employment and mentoring to improve financial stability, and addresses housing and behavioral health challenges.
“We’re so appreciative and excited. We’ve discovered that feeding hunger can be a catalyst to improve the social, nutritional, and financial vitality of our whole community,” said Riverwest Food Pantry executive director Vincent Noth. “This grant from Advocate Aurora Health’s Better Together Fund will help us expand our services and help relieve the pain and financial stress of food insecurity and dietary illness for thousands of low-income households in the Riverwest-Harambee neighborhood and beyond.”
The $200,000 grant will support Acts Housing’s financial counseling, real estate services, rehab consultation and other services that help families purchase, rehab and retain a home.
“COVID-19 has highlighted the difficulties many of our neighbors face in securing a decent and affordable home,” said Michael Gosman, president and CEO of Acts Housing. “This award will help our organization provide more than 200 Milwaukee families with the necessary support to make their homeownership dreams a reality.”
Other Advocate Aurora grant recipients have included: Hispanic Collaborative, African American Chamber of Commerce, Sigma Pi Beta Alpha Boulé/Marquette University Center for Peacemaking, UMOS, The Asha Project, Milwaukee Jobs Work, Cream City Medical Society/Milwaukee Health Services and Wisconsin Area Health Education Center.
