Potato bar for charity held at Medical Examiner's Office



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday, November 21st hosted a "potato bar" for a good cause!

For most, the Medical Examiner's Office is likely the last place they'd pick at lunchtime, but on Thursday, a number of County employees paid $5 to take part in a baked potato bar.

"Beyond the food, I think people get a kick out of coming to the Medical Examiner's Office and being able to leave under their own power," Chief Medical Examiner Brian Peterson said.

Thursday's lunch was part of the County's annual "Combined Giving Campaign."

"It's where the County employees get to do a workplace giving campaign through payroll deductions, cash, or check," Cathy Miller, the manager of the Combined Giving Campaign said.

Throughout the campaign, agencies can also host their own fundraisers.

"Each department does different things, so there's one group, actually with IT, that does a Taco Thursday," Miller said.

Eating tacos with techies may not be quite as strange as having lunch as pathologists conduct autopsies under the same roof!

"Potentially, that's true but on the bright side, we always say we have plenty of tables, no waiting," Peterson said.

All jokes aside, Peterson says the lunch is also a chance to teach people about a field they normally see only on scripted televisions hows.

"Frankly, I think a lot of what we do is educational so it's not just educating juries in court and it's not just educating students that come through, it's also educating the general public," Peterson said.

The goal for this year's Combined Giving Campaign is $90,000. Organizers say they're a little short of that, but hope the potato bar will get them within reach.

The donations will go to the United Way and the Hunger Task Force, along with a couple of other charities.