About Us
Welcome to Friedens!
Our Mission is to provide needy residents in Milwaukee County with healthy, nutritious food. We believe that feeding the hungry is not only our responsibility as Christians, it is a basic human instinct to help those who are less fortunate. We operate two emergency food pantries in the Milwaukee area.
Our main office and Friedens Community Food Pantry are inside in the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center on 1220 W. Vliet Street. This is the same building where food stamps are distributed. Our services are provided only to those who are delayed or denied acquiring food stamps.
Despensa De la Paz, our second pantry, is located inside the rectory building for St. Vincent de Paul Church, 2114 W. Mitchell St. This is a traditional neighborhood pantry, where families can come once a month.
We are a member of the Milwaukee Food Pantry Network and have partnership agreements with Hunger Task Force and Feeding America. Friedens Community Ministries was founded as Friedens Inner City Ministries in 1987. For more information on the History link.
Locations and hours of operation are indicated below.
About our Name - In German, "friedens" means peace. Our name indicates that this is a place of peace, to which the operation owes its allegiance. As former Friedens' Pastor Ed Stanford proclaimed at a volunteer appreciation dinner:
"Resolute in our belief that there is no peace without justice, we have, through the years, maintained our commitment to never quit this pantry as long as it is needed. With the hard work of the volunteers and the Board, both this commitment and the spirit of the Friedens Congregation assembled many years ago at 13th and Juneau lives on."
