Jennie Brand

11/01/2025

Here’s a list of food pantries in or close to our neighborhood.

If you’re able—donate, volunteer, or give what you can. Now is the time to come together and support each other.

11/01/2025

Blocking access to food is an act of violence. At today’s Fondy Farmers Market, any Milwaukee resident will be able to bring their Quest/EBT Card to the market office and receive $20 in FREE EBT tokens to spend at our market 🧅🌽🍎

The Fondy Farmers Market has three remaining markets, Saturdays, November 1st, 8th, and 15th, 9:00am to 12:00pm, 2200 W. Fond du Lac Avenue.

At tomorrow's market, any Milwaukee resident will be able to bring their Quest/EBT Card to the market office and receive $20 in FREE EBT tokens to spend at our market. We will not be taking the money off your card. You MUST have your card with you.

Be patient and kind if the line gets long.

$20 may get you:
Cabbage
Onions
Peppers
Apples
Potatoes

$20 may get you:
Eggs
Potatoes
Onions
Greens
Squash

$20 may get you:
Herbs
Broccoli
Peppers
Eggplant
Honey
Popcorn Kernels

$20 may get you:
Pickled Okra
Bread
Green Beans
Tomatoes?

You get it?
The Fondy Food Center wants to help,
even if it is just $20 worth of groceries.
For now.

10/24/2025

Good luck with flood recovery Waukesha, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Washington, Door, and Grant counties. Trump just said, "Oh, well. You're on your own."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' request for public assistance for six counties that were impacted by historic rainfall that led to widespread flooding in August.

09/29/2025

💬 HOW CAN WE BUILD 'AN AUDIENCE FOR THE TRUTH'?

Last week, I attend the "Journalism Ethics in a Fracturing World" conference hosted by the Center for Journalism Ethics. It brought together journalists, academics, advocates, students, and community members to dig into tough realities: a fragmented media environment, unrelenting algorithms, disappearing or unreliable data, and rising authoritarianism. Lots of honest questions, thoughtful debate, and a shared commitment to getting this right.

Amid attacks on free press, institutions, and fundamental rights, keynote speaker Keith Woods, NPR’s former chief diversity officer, opened with a reminder for all of us in this moment: “Our task is vigilance.”

At Civic Media, this is our everyday work. As a community engagement manager, I’m out in Wisconsin communities listening first and connecting with community members to make sure our coverage is useful, verified, and grounded in what people actually need. Respectful conversations and fact‑first reporting aren’t slogans for us—they’re the goal.

KEY TAKEAWAY?
Community‑first journalism delivers. Start by listening, earning trust, keeping ourselves accountable.

That’s exactly where local media shows up. We can count on community‑rooted newsrooms to fill the gaps, stay close to the facts, and serve people with reliable, accessible information—especially as politicized efforts to defund and weaken public media persist.

Let's bring it closer to home: What’s the last thing you tried to look up locally and had trouble finding information on?

08/27/2025

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) brought Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District to the national stage during his Our Revolution "Fighting Oligarchy" tour on Saturday. He endorsed Rebecca Cooke for Congress earlier this summer.

08/07/2025

FROM CREAM PUFFS TO CANVAS 🎨🎡🐷
Watch Wisconsin artists transform the magic of the Wisconsin State Fair into one-of-a-kind masterpieces during the Plein Air at the Fair Competition!

Watching all of them in action on the fairgrounds earlier this week and seeing their submissions showcased in the Expo Center was such a sweet summer treat!

See the finished art (and maybe take one home!) in the Expo Center lobby now through the end of the festivities on August 10. Recognize artists you may know?

08/05/2025

JAPANESE TRADITIONS INSPIRE
WISCONSIN BAKER 🍞 🍞 🍞 TO BUILD BRIDGES

Calling all Wisconsin foodies! I recently had the chance to chat with Peter Chiconas, the passionate baker and owner behind Day Bread Bakers. Peter's journey to becoming a baker is just as compelling as his bread. After years in engineering, he found himself "baking for fulfillment while working 40 hours a week" in a career that was draining his spirit. He realized he wanted something different from life: “If I can pay my mortgage and make bread, I'm happy."

The result? A Japanese milk bread that makes the BEST French toast and grilled cheese you'll ever taste! Peter also makes unique treats like "cookie buns" (a.k.a. Melon Pan) and is planning to expand his offerings of authentic Japanese bakery items.

So why Japanese milk bread in Wisconsin? As Peter explained to me, it all started with his travels to Japan with his wife. On their honeymoon and subsequent trips, he fell in love with the incredible bakeries in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto—particularly their Shokupan (食パン), which translates to "Daily Bread."

Fun fact: Japanese milk bread has a fascinating origin story! After World War II, American soldiers occupying Japan missed their familiar sandwich bread from back home. Japanese bakers worked with them to create this uniquely soft, fluffy loaf that combines elements of both cultures. As Peter puts it, "it's a beautiful mashup" of American and Japanese baking traditions.

With his background in fine arts, blacksmithing, and engineering, Peter brings incredible attention to detail to his craft. Day Bread is seriously local! He uses organic Wisconsin wheat from Meadowlark Farm and Mill in Iowa County, European-style butter from Pine River Dairy in Manitowoc County, and honey from his family friend over at Viola's Honey in Milwaukee County. Everything is made without preservatives or synthetic chemicals.

What makes Day Bread Bakers truly special is a commitment to community. Customers can purchase bread for someone in need, no questions asked, through the "pay forward board". DBB also accepts food stamps at participating farmers markets, helping ensure everyone has access to quality food. It's an approach that shines through everything he does.

Want to try it yourself? Find Day Bread at these southeastern Wisconsin farmers markets:

📍 Thiensville Farmers Market - TUES, 9am-2pm
📍 Jackson Park Farmers Market - THURS, 3pm-6:30pm
📍 Waukesha Farmers' Market - SAT, 8am-12pm
📍 Brookfalls Farmer's Market - SUN, 10am-2pm
📍 Farmer's Market To Go - Wisconsin

Stop by, say hi to Peter, and be part of a growing community centered around good food and even better values! 🇯🇵 🍰 🥐

07/31/2025

WISCONSIN DISABILITY PRIDE IN ACTION 👨‍🦼‍➡️👩‍🦯‍➡️👏
This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month—honoring the achievements of people with disabilities while advocating for equal rights and inclusion. As the month comes to a close, it's the perfect time to spotlight advocates still fighting to fulfill promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

If you haven't been following along already, I welcome you to learn about Carl Schulze from Neenah. Today, Carl is traveling the final stretch of his 90+ mile journey in his wheelchair—culminating tomorrow, Friday, August 1st, at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Here's why Carl made this inspiring journey:
Home care workers in Wisconsin earn only $12-16 per hour—wages so low you literally cannot survive on them. These Wisconsin workers providing essential, life-sustaining care are making wages that won't even cover basic rent and groceries, let alone support a family.

This wage gap creates a devastating shortage of caregivers, leaving people like Carl, who needs assistance with daily activities like getting in and out of his wheelchair, washing, dressing, and meal preparation, without reliable care. The irony? During his three-week trek, Carl actually lost over a week of travel time due to care unavailability. That's exactly the problem he's working to solve right there.

Carl's ask is simple but powerful: Raise home care worker wages to at least $20 per hour. Because when we value the people who provide essential care, we're really valuing the independence and dignity of people with disabilities.

Our family, friends, and neighbors in need of home care remain deeply concerned that Medicaid cuts included in the federal budget bill will force states to pick up more costs, creating budget holes that will abandon people who rely on these services and drive more care workers to better-paying jobs, further depleting a care industry already experiencing shortages. Folks like Carl stand ready to work with the Governor and our public officials to maintain and improve these programs—because for people with disabilities, these aren't just line items; they're lifelines to a better quality of life.

This is what Disability Pride means—accepting who you are, demanding to be seen, and expecting better for your entire community 💪 ✊👇

Want to show up for Carl?
He will kick off the final day of his journey at McPike Park at 10:30 AM tomorrow in Madison, and make his way to the State Capitol to give a public speech at noon.

07/30/2025

Germantown’s very own Happy Day Farmhaus receiving some well-deserved international recognition! Wisconsin’s agricultural community is all the more richer with small family-run farms like yours in it 🥬🧄🍅🌷

Humans Who Grow Food is a community that aims to connect people across borders and cultures, and to lessen dependence on supermarkets by sharing the stories, reflections, and practices of food growers worldwide.

07/29/2025

Honestly, I’m way more likely to trust communities who’ve been protecting Wisconsin’s land and water for generations than energy companies solely driven by profit 👇👇👇

WISCONSIN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES WARN US FIRST, WHY DO WE LISTEN LAST? 🌿 🦅

As drilling permits advance in Wisconsin’s forests and pipeline battles rage on, tribal communities watch their warnings fall on deaf ears—again.

Wisconsin Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is facing a new mining threat, with a company drilling for copper and gold despite fierce pushback from the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and growing concerns across the state. The tribe has been sounding the alarm about acid mine drainage, damage to wetlands and wild rice beds, and threats to sacred sites—but their pleas to stop the project have been shot down, and the drilling keeps going.

And this isn't the only time Wisconsin's Indigenous communities have been waving red flags that nobody seems to notice. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is in a huge legal battle to block Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline reroute, which would cut through nearly 200 waterways and over 100 acres of wetlands feeding into Lake Superior. They've been warning about oil spills, water contamination, and threats to their way of life, but state and federal agencies keep rubber-stamping permits anyway. Even after a federal court ruled that Enbridge was trespassing on tribal land and called the pipeline a public nuisance, the company continues to operate and expand–putting the whole watershed in jeopardy.

Once drilling starts, everyone's scrambling to play catch-up. The real power moves happen much earlier—during boring permit phases, before companies even break ground. That's when you want to be watching permit applications, building coalitions, and backing groups that challenge these projects in court. It's way easier to prevent a mess than clean one up later.

Environmental concerns typically start with Indigenous communities and spread as more residents learn about long-term impacts. The lesson is clear: we need to listen to Indigenous voices right from the get-go.

Indigenous communities spot environmental dangers way before projects get approved, but we don't listen until it's crisis time. These communities have been protecting these lands for generations, and their track record for predicting environmental problems is pretty solid—so why aren't we paying attention?

Written by: Jennie Brand

07/25/2025

When a Wausau resident shared that she and other graduates of Marathon County Government Treatment Court were planning a sober picnic to celebrate recovery, the community showed up big.

This is what community looks like—lifting each other up and celebrating second chances. Just one more reason we love this town ❤️‍🩹 🤝 🧺

07/23/2025

BARNS, BLOOMING ONIONS & BLUE RIBBONS
The Art of Honoring Wisconsin State Fair 🎨🎡🌽

One of my favorite Wisconsin State Fair traditions is the annual Fairtastic Poster Art Competition. There’s something special about seeing artistic talent from across the state capture the magic of Wisconsin life and culture—like this year’s winning piece by South Milwaukee artist Lauren Marvell Illustrations.

The Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation invites artists across the state to create the official poster artwork that will be seen by thousands of fairgoers. This beloved competition challenges artists to create playful color sketches inspired by children's book illustration, showcasing the pure joy of youth experiencing everything our fair provides.

FAIRTASTIC CONTEST PRIZES INCLUDE:
🏆 All Participants: (2) complimentary fair tickets
🏆 Top 3 Finalists: $400 stipend and (6) fair tickets
🏆 Grand Champion: $1,250 cash award, (25) prints of their poster and merch samples, and statewide exposure through official promos

Proceeds from poster and merch sales support the WSFP Foundation, established in 1995 to fund youth programs and improvements to the grounds like the brand-new Dairy Building and the Butterflies Alive! interactive exhibit.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO BE THE JUDGE!
Take a look at some of these Fairtastic Grand Champions of the past. If you were awarding the blue ribbon, which poster would you choose? 👇👇👇