MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. — The Mount Pleasant Police Department hosts a grocery giveaway once a month from their Lakeside COP house to help people in need.

The Lakeside COP House was established in 2015 with the goal of having a space for officers to engage with residents and strengthen their relationship with the community.

Officer Matthew Kwapil oversees the house. As part of the grocery giveaway, he delivered a box of groceries.

“People are struggling. Just with our own neighbors here that’s come up,” Kwapil said. A lot of people struggle through covid, struggle with jobs so we identified that need.”

On this day, dozens of cars lined up waiting to pick up necessities for free.

The department has done the grocery giveaway every 4th Tuesday of the month for the past two years. 

For Kwapil, the reason why is simple.

“We care for people, and we want what’s best for them and it’s just a great asset for our neighborhood,” said Kwapil.

The Journey Disaster Response Team provides the goods that make the grocery giveaway possible.

Jeff Berard is the director of the organization. As he directed traffic, Berard said their goal is to provide hope.

“It’s building those trusting relationships with the neighbors who not only count on us to be here but we are also able to open this up for a lot of other resources that they need like food share and other services so that can help get into a better place and not just purely handing out food,” said Berard.

While most pick up their goods by driving by, Kwapil said those who live in the neighborhood get their groceries delivered and talk with volunteering officers.

Kwapil believes these encounters at the COP house have made an impact on reducing crime.

“Everyone knows each other and believe it or not, a lot of the neighborhood watches, the neighbors hold each other more accountable, and it eliminates a lot of police calls,” Kwapil said. “They know how I work and when we do encounter issues around here, I can usually nip it in the bud with a phone call.”

The grocery giveaway is one reason why Kwapil wanted to become a police officer in the first place. He said he’s committed to helping people he has sworn to protect and serve.