FoodShare Modernization

What is FoodShare?
FoodShare, formerly known as Food Stamps, entitles the recipient to government help when they have little or no money for food. Eligible participants receive benefits on a QUEST card which functions like a debit card.

According to the USDA, each FoodShare dollar spent has a multiplying economic impact of $1.84 to the local economy. In 2009, FoodShare dollars spent in Wisconsin added $779 million to the state economy, with $264 million in Milwaukee County alone.

How do I apply for FoodShare
Applicants can apply online for FoodShare using a program called ACCESS. ACCESS allows people to sign up for child care, BadgerCare, determine eligibility for benefits, check the status of benefits, report changes, and renew benefits. Visit the Wisconsin Department of Health Services FoodShare website to learn more about FoodShare. Applicants may also call the State’s FoodShare hotline at 1-888-947-6583 for assistance.

Hunger Task Force Advocacy
We call on the state to:

• Immediately provide FoodShare benefits to all eligible cases.
• Install a Quest card vendor machine at the Robles Self Service Center so applicants can be fully assisted in one-stop, without having to travel across town to Coggs or UMOS.
• Fully and appropriately staff all State-run welfare office and its telephones so people can apply for and receive help on the same day.
• Publically declare a long term plan for modernization of FoodShare to protect those who need it most in Milwaukee.
• Support the self-service model to provide efficient, timely, and dignified service to FoodShare applicants.
• Commit to a long term lease at the Robles Self Service Center.

FoodShare: The Last Year in Wisconsin

The state began managing processing duties for Milwaukee County in May 2009 due to the perceived County mismanagement producing error rates and delays in processing aid applications. As of January 1, 2010, the State of Wisconsin publically and officially took over the FoodShare program in Milwaukee County. Due to the state takeover, Milwaukee County’s South Side office, the Robles Center, was closed. Robles was the traditional application site for Spanish, Hmong and Lao speaking immigrants. Its closure presented significant challenges to those populations which attempted to secure benefits in a timely fashion. The State Department of Health Services failed to inform applicants for public assistance of the transition from County to State management of the FoodShare program. Hunger Task Force held a press event on January 4, 2010 to announce the closure of the Robles Center to the public and give directions to applicants on where to go to apply. On March 15, 2010, the State reopened Robles by launching its first self-service center.

Today, Hunger Task Force provides staff assistance to the State at the Coggs Center in room 105 as well as at the new Robles Self Service Center, which opened in March 2010.

Read more about each of these centers and what applicants can do at each center.
Coggs Human Service Center
Robles Self Service Center