At Milwaukee’s Kinship Cafe, new beginnings are on the menu

One spring day in 2023, Mattie Allen went for a walk, praying for a miracle.

Her adoptive parents had disowned her, she was battling for custody of her kids and facing possible homelessness. Passing St. Casimir’s Church in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, she noticed a sign for the Kinship Community Food Center.

Having previously been a logistics manager for 16 years, she could tell the pantry was “well put-together.” But the first thing she did was volunteer.

“Even though I needed help, I went to help,” Allen said.

She now works at the new Kinship Cafe, which was opened by the food center in November on Milwaukee’s north side. It’s staffed by participants in Kinship’s workforce program, like Allen.

The yearlong program invites eight to 12 participants annually, according to Amanda Fahrendorf, Kinship’s senior communications associate. They’re usually people who have been involved at the food pantry as shoppers or volunteers.

Fahrendorf said it has a “therapeutic lens,” pairing work experience with counseling sessions.

“It’s through healing that people can achieve their next goal in life,” she said.

For Allen, the program has made a deep impact. She said it helped her “reframe” assumptions she had about her life.

“It’s almost like you’re starting from an infant again,” she said. “And you’re able to recreate the world that works for you.”

That wasn’t the only comparison she used to describe working at Kinship.

“It’s kind of like a unicorn,” she said. “Something very rare, something you may not fully understand, but you’re like, yeah, I kind of still want to be a part of it.”

Cafe cooks entirely from scratch

“We make everything that come out this kitchen from scratch,” said Shania Hutchins, the cafe’s manager. “From the julienne carrots to the Caesar dressing, to cutting and pounding the chicken.”

Hutchins got her start at The Tandem, the now-closed Milwaukee restaurant with a social mission to hire and train people without food service experience.

She was just out of high school, with a baby, and worked her way up to sous-chef. Now 26, she sees parallels between her experience and that of Kinship’s staff.

“I felt like I could help them go through what I went through at The Tandem, but at Kinship Cafe,” she said.

Hutchins said all but one of Kinship’s workforce staff are older than she is.

“I learn from them and they learn from me,” she said, laughing. “So I don’t see that as one-sided.”

Kinship offers everything from vegan burritos to grilled salmon salads with roasted beets.

Hutchins also highlighted the breakfast sandwich with tomato jam, her own touch.

Working at cafe is ‘just like a hug,’ says Allen

Allen said the staff at Kinship care about how she’s feeling. Unsatisfied with deflections like “I’m fine,” they ask about “what’s underneath that.”

“And then they, like, peel off a scab, and then we talk about it, and then, suddenly, you notice the cut isn’t there anymore,” she said, which allows her to do what she loves.

“I’ve always liked to help and be of service,” she said. “Most times, I help random strangers and forget about it.”

She said people come into the cafe, thanking her for having helped them in the past.

“‘I don’t remember, but great, I’m glad you do!’” she described her reaction in those instances.

She said she hopes to continue working at Kinship even after completing the workforce program.

“It’s like a hug you didn’t expect that continues to hug you,” she said.