'They're all unique:' Milwaukee Art Museum gifts Hunger Task Force with hand-painted bowls, non-perishables



MILWAUKEE -- They came in different designs, and a kaleidoscope of colors, but together, 100 bowls tell one story.

“It’s kids in our community recognizing that there’s a lot of other kids that need help," said Jonathan Hansen, Hunger Task Force's director of development.

The Hunger Task Force received a special donation on Tuesday, Feb. 20, thanks to a partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Kohl’s Art Generation Studio.



“Often, you’re making projects that then you take home with you," said Emily Sullivan, the director of Youth & Family Programs at the Milwaukee Art Museum. "That’s pretty standard for us.”

But the script was flipped in January. Instead, families designed a total of 100 bowls to give away.

“This would be a way that families could have a conversation about community need, hunger in our community," said Sullivan.

All of the bowls will go to another Hunger Task Force partner, La Causa Crisis Nursery and Respite Center. It’s a place where parents facing a medical emergency, homelessness or other serious situations can leave their young child for 24 hours.



Robyn Shemwell



“If they’re dealing with a crisis situation, they’re in the hospital, they know that their kids are being well taken care of, including hot meals," said Robyn Shemwell, La Causa's program coordinator.

The food La Causa gets from the Hunger Task Force is critical. The bowls these kids in need will now get offers another form of sustenance.

Jonathan Hansen



“I think it’ll be nice because they’re all unique, so they can take something home and they can know that that one is just theirs," said Shemwell.

“It’s going to make that next meal for a child in need all the more special, knowing that they have this special piece of art along with it," said Hansen.

The Hunger Task Force serves about 50,000 people every month throughout Milwaukee County, and stocks a network of 74 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters.