Milwaukee chef finds kindred souls at Riverwest community food center

It’s a humid August evening in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood and there's nonstop action in the basement of the St. Casimir Church at 924 E. Clarke St.

Shoppers amble by with grocery bags brimming with fresh, leafy celery and late-summer tomatoes. Volunteers cheerfully serve hearty, healthy meals from the food bar. Friends linger at tables for dinner and conversation. Kids bop in and out, bounding around with one another in the crowded-yet-convivial space.

It’s Tuesday food distribution day at Kinship Community Food Center, but it feels more like a family reunion. 

The center’s mission is to address food security and wellness issues in a space that fosters fellowship and community-building through a number of programs that support members of the Riverwest neighborhood and surrounding ZIP codes. It’s a place where people in need can procure groceries, enjoy a healthful hot meal, get assistance with crisis resources and commune in a place of dignity.

The heart of Kinship is its food distribution center, and at its soul is Caitlin Cullen, Kinship’s food center director. She’s one of the staffers there on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings ensuring the shoppers are happy and that the food being served and distributed is high-quality and plentiful. She’s also selecting the music that plays throughout the evening and making sure the vibes are upbeat, everyone’s being taken care of, and the entire operation runs as smoothly as possible. 

It’s the kind of job made for a former chef and restaurant owner like herself. 

A serendipitous step into a new role

Cullen started her role at Kinship in January 2022, just a few months after giving away her popular north-side restaurant, the Tandem. While operating the Tandem, Cullen strived to employ people in the neighborhood and taught them culinary skills they could use at other restaurants in future employment. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Cullen shifted gears and used the restaurant space to prepare and distribute more than 115,000 meals to people in need.  

Her philanthropic efforts were noticed, and one day, after the Tandem was closed and Cullen was contemplating her next steps, she received an email from a stranger. 

“She'd read about me in the Journal Sentinel and said she’d seen a job posting for this position and thought I might be a good fit,” said Cullen, who lived in the area but had never stepped inside Kinship prior to receiving the email. 

“After closing the Tandem, I was spending time consulting and helping some chef friends and was wondering what to do next,” she said.

Cullen said on the day she received the email, she was on a call with the Milwaukee Food Council, discussing hunger relief and food inequality throughout the city. She logged off and immediately saw the email with the job posting. “It all felt so serendipitous,” she said. “Like the universe was telling me something.” 

The role required a person with a unique and wide-ranging skillset: someone who knew the food space inside and out, from creating culturally relevant recipes to conducting cooking demonstrations to coordinating food donations to mentoring staff and volunteers. It also required a person with understanding and compassion for the people Kinship serves.

None of it was a stretch for Cullen, who grew up in a single-parent household, where they got by with the support of their community.

"We didn't get expensive or fancy foods, but we always ate, and there was always someone looking out for us," Cullen said. "I may have had disadvantages, but the world told me I could. So, in the work I do, I want to instill into folks who have been told they can't that they can."

Serving outside the stress of a restaurant

Since Cullen began her job at Kinship Community Food Center, she’s worked tirelessly to expand its food and wellness programs, which go beyond collecting food donations to distribute to community members or serving meals to those in need.  

“I still get to run a restaurant in a way,” Cullen said, though she’s comforted by the fact that her hours, pay and mental health are a lot more stable now. "It’s so similar in a lot of ways, like ordering inventory and creating menus. I’m still navigating staff and our varied customers, like the person who’s currently in the throes of drug addiction or the retired woman on a fixed income who just wants a social outlet, or even the wealthy folks in the suburbs who want to give back … they’re all my customers.” 

Cullen said that the food programs at Kinship are similar to the makeup of the Tandem.

“It was a very specific kind of restaurant in the way that it was such a social enterprise," Cullen said, noting that at her restaurant, she felt responsible to help anyone in need on top of keeping her business in operation. “I’d have employees telling me they’re in danger of being evicted and I’d move them into my house,” she said. “At Kinship, I hear those same stories, and we have actual resources to help. We have people here who can hook people up with temporary housing assistance or find a more affordable long-term housing solution.”   

Working at Kinship has struck the perfect balance for Cullen, who provides nourishment, care and life skills to the underserved without stressing about the overhead of running a restaurant. 

“I encourage all of my chef friends to get rid of their restaurants,” she deadpanned, noting that while she was proud of what she did at the Tandem, the daily stress took a toll on her health. “My blood pressure is way down now,” she said, laughing. 

Though many of her chef friends haven’t followed her advice, they have come in to help Cullen in her new role. On Saturday mornings, Cullen conducts cooking demonstrations during food distribution hours. Milwaukee chefs like AJ Dixon (of the now-closed Lazy Susan), Greg Leon (Amilinda) and Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite (DanDan) helped run demonstrations early on in Cullen’s tenure. She’s now doing more of them herself, but relishes the fact that she’s able to use her skills to continue to help young cooks. 

“The Tandem was always about helping young people learn how to cook, and this gives me an opportunity to continue with that,” she said.

On any given Saturday, Cullen said, a group of about four or five kids spanning ages 7 to 17 will come to the demonstrations, with Cullen assigning them age-appropriate tasks. 

She uses the demonstrations as an opportunity to teach students not only cooking tips and hacks, but about unfamiliar ingredients, too, such as Tokyo bekana, a type of Asian cabbage that Kinship grows on its farm but is rarely picked by shoppers from the produce station.

“I’ll say, ‘Hey, check this out. This stuff actually tastes really good with a little sesame oil. Let’s give it a shot!,' ” said Cullen, who gives a quick preparation demonstration and sends students home with a recipe. 

Striving for nutritious meals, but donations fluctuate

Nutrition is central to the meals served at Kinship. Although the pantry strives to stock healthful foods, they realize that for some of the shoppers, the meals served there might be the healthiest they'll eat all week.

“Seventy percent of the households that shop with us are either someone who has or lives with someone with diabetes or heart disease,” she explained. So Cullen and Natalie Ross, Kinship’s food acquisition and wellness associate who also develops the center’s menus, find creative ways to tailor the meals they’re serving to those dietary needs. 

Lasagna is made with a fresh-made sauce with no added sugar and filled with eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers. Macaroni and cheese is still served, but with half the noodles replaced with fresh cauliflower. “Macaroni and trees,” Cullen calls it. 

"We're trying to make relatable, humble food, but food that will also be super nourishing," Cullen said. "People feel different after they've eaten a meal that's wholly rounded. Your body starts to crave healthier things, so maybe you'll come home and go for a walk instead of going right to sleep, or you'll want to make better choices for yourself outside of food and exercise."

While they try to keep nutrition at the forefront, Cullen and Ross often have to be creative with their meals, which are dictated by the food that’s been donated.

“It’s always feast or famine, where we’ll have a million of one thing and nothing of anything else,” Cullen said. “For months we had ground bison, or we’d be up to our eyeballs in dried chickpeas or have food that’s about to expire and we need to use it before it goes bad.”

But they strive to make the most out of what they have, understanding that so many come to Kinship each week specifically for the communal experience of dining out, even if they’re not shopping for food that day. 

Shop, Grow and Feast at Kinship 

Cullen oversees all of Kinship’s food and wellness-related programs, called Shop, Grow and Feast. 

With Shop, Kinship Community Food Center hosts two food distribution days per week, one on Tuesday evenings and another on Saturday mornings. Residents within the community (specifically in the ZIP codes 53212, 53211, 53217, 53202 and 53203) can come in to pick up groceries to help feed their families. The groceries are stocked on shelves and organized just as they’d be at a commercial grocery store. They’re donated by organizations like Feeding America, which provides products twice each week.

Other organizations like local churches, Hunger Task Force and Just One More Ministry also partner with Kinship to provide donations, as do businesses such as Breadsmith bakery and grocery chains. 

Those donated foods are supplemented by 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of organic produce grown at Kinship’s 27,000-square-foot urban farm on Port Washington Road, an operation at the heart of Kinship’s program called Grow. 

“When I was interviewing for the job, they were looking for someone who wouldn't be scared to run this giant farm,” Cullen said. “I thought, ‘I like being outside. I have a bunch of gardener friends who could help. Let’s do it!'” 

Cullen oversees the program, but the farm is maintained by full-time farm associate Cole Compton, who grows and harvests the produce with the help of staff and volunteers. That produce is given away during Shop days or used in the meals prepared for Tuesday dinners, Saturday breakfasts or the special monthly dinner at the center of Kinship’s Feast program. 

With Feast, volunteers, staff and shoppers gather together for a full meal, typically on the second Wednesday of each month.

For the Feast meals, Cullen does the lion’s share of the cooking. Because she's cooking for 50 to 70 people rather than 200 at the weekly dinners, she can add a little flourish to meals. In warm-weather months, the Feast meal is served al fresco-style at Kinship’s urban farm. In cooler months, it takes place at the center. 

The meal is where Cullen flexes her talents as a chef, using produce from the farm and a modest budget to purchase items outside of the food that’s donated to the center. She aims for thoughtful dishes that are approachable but sophisticated to set a special tone for the evening. 

It’s an opportunity for those in the community to go someplace different, outside of the church basement, in a space that has nothing to do with food insecurity.

"A lot of our regulars at Feast are retired and living on fixed incomes," Cullen said. "They don't go out to eat unless they go out to eat with us, so if they're going to the trouble to get a ride up to the farm one night a month, we want to make it a special experience. It's a real farm dinner."

The September dinner came just as squash season was taking off, so Cullen and Ross tapped their farm harvest for the meal.

"We cut and seeded all these beautiful delicata squash," Cullen said. "Natalie roasted the seeds to add to our salads, and we stuffed the squash with farro and dried berries — things we don't typically have at the pantry."

Cullen said they handed out the stuffed squash recipe after the dinner and soon after began requesting donations for farro to stock in the pantry because of the response. Many of the diners had never tasted farro prior to the dinner, and now they wanted to make it at home.

A community of generosity 

The sense of community is heightened on Feast meal nights, but it's felt in the intimate space of the center, as well. Shop days are about so much more than just giving away food. There’s a child care room where volunteers help entertain children while their caregivers shop. There’s upbeat music playing from a speaker throughout the evening. There are trained mentors on-site to help community members with financial, medical and crisis needs. And, of course, there are meals for the community to gather around. 

Senior communications associate Amanda Fahrendorf calls it a “community of generosity.”

“There are people who come here on days where they won’t shop for food, but will just stop in for coffee and breakfast and a chat, because they feel like this is where they belong on a Saturday morning,” she said.

Everyone, from the volunteers to the shoppers, has the same name tag and blends in. In fact, there are times when it’s difficult to tell who’s a volunteer and who’s a shopper. 

According to Fahrendorf, that’s all by design. “Everyone here is treated as equals, we’re all just people," she said. "The ‘kin’ in ‘kinship’ doesn’t necessarily mean we’re blood-related, but that we’re a place where people rely on us as if we’re a family to them.” 

Michael, a former shopper who is now fully employed and comes to Kinship for the camaraderie, said he was suspicious of the center at first, but Kinship restored his faith in people.

“I saw that if I share what I’m going through and others share with me, it gave me a new appreciation for what I’m working through,” he said. “It’s easy to be negative, but when you run across people who are positive and appreciate you, it pushes you to be a better version of you.” 

Ross, who began volunteering at Kinship after losing her job when Riverwest's Fuel Cafe shut down in 2020, said the community there saved her life. She became sober and officially joined the staff in 2022.

"This is my family. They've taught me to love myself and other people," she said.

These are all reasons Cullen has devoted her life to service.

"I have a nice home and a peaceful life now," she said. "And to have those luxuries and not do the work for others would be a disservice."

“There's no shame in asking for food,” Cullen said. “I want to redirect the feeling people have when they come in for the first time feeling nervous and have them realize that the only people who should have shame about the situation are the folks who aren't doing anything about it. I want people to walk away from Kinship being reminded that there’s still a lot of good out there … there’s still a lot of people who care and love.” 

What to know about Kinship Community Food Center

Address: St. Casimir Church, 924 E. Clarke St., Milwaukee

Contact: info@kinshipmke.org or (414) 301-1478

Food Center Hours: 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Saturday, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday

Volunteer: Kinship is currently accepting volunteers at its food distribution center and urban farm. Sign up to volunteer at kinshipmke.org/volunteer.

Donations:  Monetary donations can be made online. The food center is currently seeking food donations in the following categories:

• Variety cereals (cereals other than Cheerios and Cornflakes, please)
• Fruit cups, applesauce cups or pouches, dried fruits and other healthy fruit items for school lunches
• Pastas, preferably shapes other than elbow macaroni and traditional spaghetti (whole wheat or high-fiber noodles are a bonus)
• Brown rice and other healthy whole grains (i.e., farro, quinoa, wild rice, buckwheat)
• Canned soups – preferably non-condensed, with pop-top lids (for those who are without access to a kitchen), or cartons with a twist-off top that have multiple servings in each

Learn more: kinshipmke.org

How to donate to Stock the Shelves

During October, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin newspapers and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin are working together to raise enough money from readers and donors to provide 750,000 meals to Wisconsin families through the annual Stock the Shelves campaign. Each dollar donated equals about four meals, or $10 in food. 

The campaign will support communities served by the following newspapers: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post Crescent, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, Oshkosh Northwestern, Fond du Lac Reporter, Sheboygan Press, Wausau Daily Herald, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Marshfield News-Herald, Stevens Point Journal, Door County Advocate and Oconto County Reporter.

Donations will help support people in the same community where the donor lives.

To donate online, visit feedingamericawi.org/stocktheshelvesdonate.  

To donate by mail, checks made payable to Feeding American Eastern Wisconsin, ATTN: Stock the Shelves, should be sent to 2911 W. Evergreen Drive, Appleton WI 54913.

Enclose with your contribution the donor’s address with city, state and ZIP code for internal processing, a notation of whether the donation should remain anonymous, whether the donation is in the memory of someone special. Also list the donor’s name as it should appear in a thank-you advertisement to be published in the Thanksgiving editions of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s daily newspapers.

For a list of pantries supported by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, visit feedingamericawi.org/find-help.

Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee-area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.   

What should she cover next? Contact her atrseis@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke.