Board Director

People’s Table is looking for a Milwaukee-area accounting professional with knowledge of nonprofit accounting and a passion for helping people to attain long-term food security. Board terms are three years with an option to renew. Meetings are held remotely six times a year (1-2 hours), with committee meetings held about once a fiscal quarter. This board position will serve on the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors.

For 20 years, People’s Table – formerly the Jim Luther New Hope Center at St. Hyacinth – has operated a food pantry on the South side of Milwaukee and has grown to become one of the largest food distributors in the city.

With 200 volunteers and three staff, People’s Table supplies >500,000 lbs. of food to over 19,000 patrons annually. We are seeing a significant increase in the number of families seeking emergency food at our pantry on 14th & Becher which we rent from St. Hyacinth.

To help families achieve long term food security, People’s Table began a Food Collective program in 2019 modeled after the empowering Urban Recipe program in Atlanta – urbanrecipe.org/food-co-ops/. The only program of its kind in Milwaukee, the Food Collective has three main goals – food security, community building, and resource referral. Each Collective consists of 20-25 families from the local neighborhood who sort and distribute food amongst themselves, achieving 75% of their food needs. Collectives meet twice a month, and after food is sorted the group comes together for a potluck meal and discussion about neighborhood issues, resources they need, and to share about their personal lives.

Members are provided with nourishing food and a nourishing community that gathers over the course of several months. The money saved on food and by accessing resources allows members to focus on their goal; pay their rent, save up for a down payment, or pay for needed health care.

An evaluation completed in 2022 showed a greater level of food security, financial security, and social cohesion among People’s Table Food Collective  members compared to those served by the traditional pantry model (UWM Study – An Alternative Food Pantry Model to Enhance Long-term Food Security, Social Cohesion, and Financial Well-being). Now that we will soon have four Collective sites, we are embarking on a more intensive study of the program to further evaluate the transformative potential of the Food Collective model.

To better respond to growing community needs, the People’s Table board has grown, diversified and is unified in its commitment to growth. In 2024 the board contracted with a strategic planner/fundraiser, held its first ever donor event, completed a SWOT survey with clients and other key stakeholders, formalized board committees and member terms, and held a strategic planning retreat to inform organizational priorities and goals moving forward. In 2025, the organization underwent a comprehensive rebranding process, and held a very successful inaugural golf outing.

People’s Table strategic goals include:

• Locate and secure a new, suitable, ADA compliant space for a full-service food pantry, co-op, and complementary programming.
• Provide an exceptional food pantry shopper experience for our diverse clientele. Grow partnerships with healthy food suppliers to respond to increasing needs and loss of federal funds.
• Expand the Food Collective program to additional neighborhood sites where families experiencing food insecurity naturally gather (public housing, health clinics, churches).
• Increase fundraising capacity and diversify funding sources to respond to increasing need, cancellation of federal funding streams, and in preparation for capital
• Develop the talents and skills of People’s Table staff, board and volunteers to provide culturally specific/competent and caring services to our diverse clientele. Grow the board of directors.
• Build awareness of services and impact through the development of effective marketing tools, media relations and social media.