MILWAUKEE — For many Milwaukee residents, it may become increasingly difficult to find access to fresh food.

Jonathan Hansen is the chief strategy officer for Hunger Task Force, a free, local food bank in Milwaukee. Hansen said Hunger Task Force has noticed a significant increase of need from the community. 

“Everyone is feeling that pinch right now,” said Hansen. “Particularly families who are struggling with unemployment.” 

He said grocery store chains scaling back and closing some locations makes it even harder. 

The most recent store closure was on Jan. 11, when the Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard closed. A spokesperson with Aldi said the closure “is a part of a strategic effort to better allocate resources and continue providing a high-quality shopping experience at our nearby stores.”

Aldi also announced it’s opening 180 new stores across 31 states in 2026. 

Milwuakee Alderwoman Andrea Pratt issued the following statement in light of the Aldi closure, saying, in-part: 

“The closing is disappointing and will make it more difficult for many regular customers – especially those who do not have access to a vehicle – to obtain their groceries and other critical items.

“Additionally, it is just the latest development in a trend of recent divestment from neighborhoods where there are already few fresh food resources available to residents. Therecent closures of Pick ‘n Save stores nearby (35th and North and on Silver Spring Dr. in Glendale) are making it so that residents must travel significantly farther to secure their food, necessities, and medications.

“I will be working closely with city staff and our local business community to see what we can do to attract new grocery outlets to the 1st District and the north side.”

Hansen said there’s options for residents in who are unable to travel far for groceries. The Hunger Task Force Mobile Market travels Monday through Friday throughout the county where residents have limited access to fresh and healthy foods. 

“We see the instance of a grocery store closing or we see a neighborhood overtime that lost resources to healthy foods or to a grocery store,” said Hansen. “We’re able to pivot and send the market to those neighborhoods to help to address needs.” 

The closest mobile market to the closed Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard is at Meinecke Plaza. The market will be there the first Monday of every month at 4 p.m. 

The African American Roundtable is also fighting food insecurity through a campaign it’s launching this spring. Ryeshia Farmer said this will benefit the northwest side of Milwaukee. 

“We really want to get the city’s decision makers, the Common Council, the mayor, to invest in food access for our residents,” said Farmer. “We want them to take up responsibility to prioritize through the city budget.” 

Both Farmer and Hansen said it’s important for residents to know they’re not alone. 

“We want people to have the same shopping experience that anyone wants in the grocery store and to be able to afford foods,” said Hansen.

A steep drop in temperatures overnight and snow has caused icy road conditions for much of southeastern Wisconsin for the morning commute Wednesday, Jan. 14.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Jan. 14 across most of southern and southeast Wisconsin, as far north as Sheboygan County in the east and Sauk and Adams counties in the west. The advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m.

Cameron Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, said there have been multiple reports of accidents around the area.

“It was kind of a perfect storm, honestly. The combination of the snow that we had in the roads, warm pavement temperature and then air temperatures quickly falling from the 30s into the low 20s, basically caused conditions that were conducive to icing on the road,” he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s traveler information website, 511wi.gov, showed several reports of accidents in Milwaukee and surrounding areas as of 8 a.m. Jan. 14.

The snow should let up around mid-morning, Miller said. Snow accumulation in the Milwaukee area Wednesday, Jan. 14 is not expected to be more than a few tenths of an inch – just a dusting, Miller said.

Another round of snow is forecast to move in the night of Thursday, Jan. 15, and continue through Saturday, Jan. 17.

“It’s going to be a long-duration snow event. So it’s going to be basically white snow throughout that entire time, and really only going to be a couple of inches of accumulation,” Miller said.

Miller said the precipitation later in the week will likely not bring any more winter weather advisories. Icing should be less of a problem, as temperatures are expected to stay below freezing in the coming days.

Wisconsin weather radar

Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.

MILWAUKEE — Students at Dr. George Washington Carver Academy of Mathematics and Science in Milwaukee experienced something special recently when a traditional school book fair became a celebration of free reading, thanks to a partnership between TMJ4, the Scripps Howard Fund, Milwaukee Public Schools and Scholastic’s “If You Give a Child a Book” campaign.

Each student was able to choose five free books of their own, removing the financial barrier that often comes with book fairs and giving children the freedom to select books they truly wanted to read.

“For them to have the chance to come in and literally pick whatever five books they want from the current up-to-date books that they’re raving over in class is awesome for them,” said Hayley Awe, a kindergarten teacher at Carver Academy.

TMJ4

The impact was immediate and visible. Student Lamar Allen described the experience as feeling “like a dream” and said it felt “amazing.”

Awe emphasized the importance of students having books at home, noting how meaningful it is to see children build their own personal libraries.

TMJ4

“I’m happy for them. It’s great that they are given that chance to just have books at home,” Awe said.

Parent volunteer Cheynile Johnson believes the initiative levels the playing field for students by providing access to books they’re genuinely interested in reading.

“I think it’s going to be beneficial for a lot of the kids, allowing them to have access to things that they’re interested in,” Johnson said.

TMJ4

Johnson also noted how refreshing it was to see children excited about physical books in an increasingly digital world.

“I noticed a lot of kids aren’t reading anymore. Everybody’s on tablets and on laptops, so this has been refreshing to see them actually excited to see books,” Johnson said.

TMJ4

The “If You Give a Child a Book” campaign has distributed more than one million books nationwide, working toward the goal of ensuring every child has the opportunity to develop a love of reading.

It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.

Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip