Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee’s ‘We Got This’ garden; rooted in giving back to community
MILWAUKEE – It is more than just a community garden. For more than a decade, the ‘We Got This’ garden on Milwaukee’s north side has helped keep young people rooted in purpose and out of trouble.
‘We Got This’ garden
What we know:
Near 9th and Ring, Bryson Rivas plants more than vegetables. He also plants hope.
“We Got This” garden in Milwaukee
While gardening, something else is on Rivas’ mind.
What they’re saying:
“I really wanted to help the community and make it better than it already is,” Rivas said. “Be an example, basically.”
Rivas is one of dozens of young people working at the ‘We Got This’ garden this summer.
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“The last three weeks, we’ve had over 150 kids showing up at the garden,” said Alex Bruzan, garden organizer.
Dig deeper:
The ‘We Got This’ garden provides structure, disciple, and mentorship through gardening and community service. It also helps reduce exposure to violence, drugs and crime.
Kids get paid for their work every week.
“We Got This” garden in Milwaukee
“We’re already on pace to give out more than $35,000. Kids that are 9 and under make $10. Kids that are between 10-18 make $20,” Bruzan said.
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Bruzan said the ‘We Got This’ garden has expanded to several nearby sites over the years. But it is rooted in the city’s 53206 ZIP code. The area has one of the highest incarceration rates in entire country for Black men, along with economic hardship and crime.
Kids involved with the garden are now focused on the positive.
Young people involved
What they’re saying:
“You can keep a kid busy. You can keep them doing something,” Bruzan said. “Or you can help them develop conflict resolution skills. So we talk about that all the time.”
The ‘We Got This’ garden runs on donations, volunteers and young leaders like Kelben Davis, who are planting for the future.
“I want to help my community out and that makes me feel better in so much more ways,” Davis said.
“We Got This” garden in Milwaukee
“Something can always get better as it goes,” said Bryson Rivas.
Local perspective:
Andre Lee Ellis founded the garden before giving it to the neighborhood a few years ago. The food grown in the garden is given to the kids and the community throughout the summer.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
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Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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