MILWAUKEE — An organization instrumental in getting fresh food and supplies to hundreds of food pantries and families in Milwaukee is celebrating a decade in operation.
Without “Just One More Ministry,” many people would be left hungry with nowhere to turn.
But Just One More Ministry doesn’t just help feed the community, it also gives job opportunities to people looking to turn their lives around.
Vincent Reynolds was going down a difficult path in life when he found Just One More Ministry. He started volunteering with the organization and is now one of seven full-time employees.
“I used to be one of the inner-city kids that wanted and needed food,” said Reynolds. “We never knew for sure where the next meal was coming from. I saw my mom deal with that pressure.”
He helps pick up both packaged and fresh food from major grocery stores, warehouses and restaurants and brings it to Just One More Ministry. Then, he organizes the products and makes sure they get out to more than 100 food pantries in the area.
Just One More Ministry also does some of their own distribution in neighborhoods throughout the city.
“We put about 800 pantry bags together every week and get them out to whoever needs them,” said Chris Capper, the executive director of Just One More Ministry. “On average, we feed about 6,000 people every week.”
Just One More Ministry would not exist without Capper. He battled alcohol and drug addiction for years, and said he knew he had to change his life. He started volunteering at a church, then started his own outreach. He started with 20 loaves of bread. Now, Just One More Ministry operates out of a 24,000-square-foot warehouse.
The concept of taking his own addiction recovery day by day, and helping one more person whenever he can, is where the name of the organization comes from.
“It became sort of a mantra,” said Capper. “Smile at just one more person, go feed just one more person, try to find one more donor of food. If you look at your life, it’s always an effort to keep reaching and doing one more.”
Helping just one more person in recovery is also part of his mission. Most people Capper employs at Just One More Ministry are people who needed a second chance and someone to believe in them.
“It’s the satisfaction of knowing we have challenged backgrounds, but we turned it around and we’re doing something good for God’s children that need help,” said Capper. “It’s a blessing for us to do this work.”
But the work is also extremely difficult. Capper and Reynolds said it’s hard to see how many people in the Milwaukee area are struggling with food insecurity.
“It’s a lot more than you would even think,” said Reynolds.
They vow to keep doing everything they can to help more.