At Milwaukee’s Kinship Cafe, new beginnings are on the menu

By Nick Rommel, WPR

One spring day in 2023, Mattie Allen went for a walk, praying for a miracle.

Her adoptive parents had disowned her, she was battling for custody of her kids and facing possible homelessness. Passing St. Casimir’s Church in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, she noticed a sign for the Kinship Community Food Center.

Having previously been a logistics manager for 16 years, she could tell the pantry was “well put-together.” But the first thing she did was volunteer.

“Even though I needed help, I went to help,” Allen said.

She now works at the new Kinship Cafe, which was opened by the food center in November on Milwaukee’s north side. It’s staffed by participants in Kinship’s workforce program, like Allen.

The yearlong program invites eight to 12 participants annually, according to Amanda Fahrendorf, Kinship’s senior communications associate. They’re usually people who have been involved at the food pantry as shoppers or volunteers.

Fahrendorf said it has a “therapeutic lens,” pairing work experience with counseling sessions.

“It’s through healing that people can achieve their next goal in life,” she said.

For Allen, the program has made a deep impact. She said it helped her “reframe” assumptions she had about her life.

“It’s almost like you’re starting from an infant again,” she said. “And you’re able to recreate the world that works for you.”

Keep reading to discover other comparisons of kinship’s impact.

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