Happy Anniversary, Tosa Cares!

Nearly two decades ago, a small food pantry was operated out of the Wauwatosa Police Department. When they found they no longer had the capacity to meet the needs of the community, the people at Mt Zion Lutheran stepped up and made space to host a food pantry on their property. However, the need in the community was more than Mt Zion could support on its own, and community partners were invited to collaborate in the creation of Tosa Cares.

Tosa Cares began in the middle of a snow storm back in 2008, serving its first patrons on a day when the plows had not reached Mt Zion's parking lot and people had to walk a great distance through over a foot of snow from the road to reach the doors of the building. But from that humble beginning, Tosa Cares has grown to be a staple of the community.

Today, Tosa Cares serves over 300 patron households (over 1000 individuals). The need in our community has risen, especially since the Pandemic. Tosa Cares has double the amount of space it uses in Mt Zion's facilities in the past 5 years, expanding to try to keep up with the need. But the need has become so great that for the first time in its history, Tosa Cares has had to put a limit on how many households it can serve and new patrons have been turned away. This is a point of mixed feelings, because it means testifies to how much of a difference Tosa Cares is making in our community, serving more patrons than ever before, but it also means that there are people whom we do not have the capacity to support.

On behalf of Tosa Cares, we would like to thank everyone who makes a crucial difference in this ministry - from the Board to the many volunteers to everyone who makes donations, both individuals and corporations. We could not be doing what we are doing without you. Thank you.

And, by the grace of God, we hope to be serving the community for many more years. Happy Anniversary, Tosa Cares!