They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee.
In 2026, we’re trying something different with Uniquely Milwaukee: shorter stories and themed months, each one with a different focus. For January, our attention turns to Health and Wellness — two things that aren’t possible without access to fresh produce, basics like milk and eggs, and other items many of us take for granted because they’re available at our neighborhood grocery store.
Unfortunately, many neighborhoods in Milwaukee don’t have that easy access and exist in a food desert, a term first used in Scotland but is unfortunately becoming all too applicable in places like Milwaukee. As the National Research Council defined them, food deserts are “neighborhoods and communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods” and “tend to be located in urban and rural low-income neighborhoods.”
Maurice “Moe” Wince and his wife, Yashica Spears, have spent the past 3-1/2 years addressing the issue as co-owners of the Sherman Park Grocery Store. Located at 4315 W. Fond du Lac Ave., the store has strived to balance access to healthy food with affordability while facing a host of recent challenges.
A drop in customers, theft and nearly $100,000 in damage from historic flooding last August left Wince and Spears in a difficult position as business owners. So, last week, they reached out to the community and asked for support — a message that came just days before a nearby Aldi on the North Side shut down.
On this episode, Uniquely Milwaukee host Kim Shine takes you inside Sherman Park Grocery Store to talk with Wince and one of his regular customers who relies on this neighborhood resource to help put food on the table.
