About Us

Serving the Milwaukee community since 1998

Fresh & Safe is proud to be a local company in the heart of Milwaukee. We’re also the fifth largest minority food distribution company in southeastern Wisconsin.

 

We provide jobs for our community and support local food producers and suppliers. We strive to impact the lives of every employee, and many of our team members have been with us for 10 years or more.

How our company started

     Landa Carson’s passion has always been to feed people with hospitality, community, and love. His wife Deborah wanted to support his dream and his passion. In 1998, the Carsons stepped out on faith to start their own business, Fresh & Safe. 


     There is one specific moment that sticks out in Mr. Carson’s mind when he reflects on why he started this business. Late one night, he was driving home from work and saw a 9-year-old boy pushing a buggy with a younger child, around 5 years old and perhaps a sibling. He thought to himself, “The children must be hungry.”  In that moment, Mr. Carson knew it was finally time to start a business focused on making sure kids in Milwaukee had access to fresh, nutritious meals. 


     Years before, he began his career in food service as a bus boy and then moved to a position as a dishwasher. While washing dishes, he talked with the cooks and asked lots of questions to learn more about cooking. Eventually, he moved up to frontline cook, where his leadership skills continued to grow. He worked in multiple restaurants, served as meal coordinator in Franklin School District, and worked as the main cook at Milwaukee Center for Independence. He gained experience in the more corporate side of the food service industry at Red Lobster, where he started as a restaurant manager then advanced to a position in quality control at the company’s corporate office. 

     

     Throughout his years in the restaurant and food service industry, Mr. Carson continued to show love and hospitality for his family, his church, and the community at large through his cooking. Now, he shares that love and hospitality with thousands of school children in the Milwaukee area through Fresh & Safe’s school lunch services plus businesses, nonprofits, and individuals through catering services. 

About

Fresh & Safe is proud to be a local company in the heart of Milwaukee. We’re also the fifth largest minority food distribution company in southeastern Wisconsin.

 

We provide jobs for our community and support local food producers and suppliers. We strive to impact the lives of every employee, and many of our team members have been with us for 10 years or more.