Financial Stewardship in Action: Getting to Know Hunger Task Force CFO Lisa Feldmeier

Hunger Task Force is 100% community supported and Milwaukee’s only Free & Local food bank. Lisa Feldmeier serves as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and leads Hunger Task Force’s financial management strategy.

“Serving as the CFO enables me to do what I love to do and ensure we’re Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader,” says Lisa. “When we’re in a strong financial position, we can feed more people who rely on our safety net of food pantries, meal sites, homeless shelters and senior centers for their next meal.”

Lisa monitors and oversees all agency financials, budgets and federal grant programs. Prior to stepping into the role two years ago, Lisa served as controller for nearly 10 years. When she joined the Hunger Task Force team, Lisa was no stranger to the organization’s mission and community impact. In fact, she worked on the Hunger Task Force account during her tenure at RitzHolman CPAs.

“As an auditor, I checked the financial work done by the Hunger Task Force team. Stepping into my roles with the organization enables me to be more hands on in day-to-day financial management and strategic planning,” she adds.  

During Lisa’s tenure, she’s experienced a lot of change from the introduction of the Mobile Market, Hunger Task Force’s grocery store on wheels, to managing through the government shutdown and supporting dairy recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her role was to properly track all financials to ensure Hunger Task Force remained operating from a position of strength.

Since joining the team at Hunger Task Force, total expenses for the agency have more than doubled while net assets have increased by 339 percent. Lisa has also managed the financials through three capital campaigns – the Visitor Center at The Farm, the warehouse in West Milwaukee and the Southside Community Resource Center.

When Lisa isn’t crunching numbers, you can find her helping at community events that support Hunger Task Force. One of her favorite events is the Senior Farmers Market Voucher Program distribution in early summer. There, she helps hand out paper vouchers to older adults that they can exchange for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, roadside stands and community-supported agriculture programs.

Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee’s only Free & Local food bank meaning it does not charge local pantries, soup kitchens, low-income senior sites and homeless shelters food, delivery or network membership fees. We believe that healthy, culturally relevant food should be provided free of charge based upon need, not upon an organization’s ability to pay. 

Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee’s Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader. The organization’s core values are Dignity, Justice, Equity, Compassion and Stewardship. Hunger Task Force feeds people today by providing healthy and culturally appropriate food to hungry children, families and seniors in the community absolutely free of charge. Hunger Task Force also works to end future hunger by advocating for strong public policies and nutrition programs at the local, state and federal level.