MADISON, Wis. – Little John's Kitchen is citing a staff shortage for its suspended food service.
Dave Heide, founder of Little John's Kitchen, says the past year has been difficult for him.
“I'm sorry for getting emotional. It's been a really long year,” Heide said.
Little John's ceased operations in January 2023. Now, the service is once again suspended and will no longer provide meals to Boys and Girls Club locations in Dane County.
“Our biggest problem was staffing. We were trying to get food in all the clubs and we were running out of it. We didn't have enough people working to keep food production going. “I did,” he says.
Little John's Kitchen and Boys & Girls Clubs announced a joint venture in December 2023 that will see Little John's Kitchen operate out of Boys & Girls Club locations and serve people in need. They say they will provide food for them.
Although the operation lasted only two weeks, BGCDC Director Michael Johnson said he was not blindsided by the shutdown.
“He (Heide) was very honest, very direct. I tell you, if he wasn't honest with us, honest and transparent, I would be the first to call it out at the top. I would scream,” my lungs. That’s not the case here,” Johnson says.
The kitchen was set up to feed 150 children a day, but Johnson said he was preparing in case things got worse.
“As an organization, we always have contingency plans in place, so we never laid off any cooks just in case,” he says.
Heide said his immediate focus is on building his organization into a permanent home.
