Homeless men get a taste of Milwaukee's best restaurants

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Award-winning chef Justin Aprahamian and his staff decided that a hearty French cassoulet — a stew with meat and vegetables — was a good dish for his regulars on a December night.

These regulars weren't the 20 people who can fit in his upscale Sanford Restaurant near downtown Milwaukee, though. They were 86 men staying at Milwaukee's largest publicly funded homeless shelter, the Guest House.

"The men are so appreciative, that someone would take time out of their day and prepare this nice, quality meal," said Cindy Krahenbuhl, executive director of the Guest House, which also offers programs dealing with mental health, drug and alcohol issues.

A volunteer there who is also retired from the restaurant business, Dale Rhyan, came up with the idea about four years ago to approach restaurants for help after he noticed the men got only about a dozen meals a month — and those weren't particularly nutritious ones. The shelter has no budget for meals and relies completely on volunteers to make meals.

"So I thought, OK, this is by far the most important thing on the list, because food goes right to the brain," Rhyan said. "These guys need nutrition to get their lives back, and to be able to go out on the street, find work, and get their health back."
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HT Cream City Catholic

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