Thousands donated food to Stomp Out Hunger, get into Summerfest

MILWAUKEE -- Thousands of people got into the opening day of Summerfest on Wednesday, June 27th by doing something good. They donated three non-perishable foot items to the Hunger Task Force as part of Stomp Out Hunger Day at the Big Gig.

"I brought some potatoes, some spinach, and some condensed milk," says Summerfest goer Brandon Massey.

FOX6 partnered with Johnson Controls and the Hunger Task Force for this massive effort.

"Stomp out Hunger is a 23 year long tradition at Summerfest," said Sherrie Tussler of Hunger Task Force. "Summerfest has been the flag ship of food drives for us. It kicks off our festival season."

The Hunger Task Force was able to collect more than 70,000 pounds of food during Stomp Out Hunger Day in 2011. They hope to surpass that number in 2012.

"One in two children wakes up in poverty in Milwaukee every single day. But during the summer months it becomes really intense because school is recessed and lots of kids and families are dependent upon breakfast and lunch that their school would normally provide," said Tussler.

"The hype to bring food knowing that you're coming in to have a great time but you're also doing something to give back to the community so that's a very exciting thing for all of us," says Mary Dowell with Johnson Controls.