Fill The Hall Food Drive To Feed 500 Seacoast Children This Summer Due To Food Insecurity

The Music Hall and Gather present the ninth annual Fill The Hall Food Drive, aimed at nourishing the Seacoast community and combating the continued rise in food insecurity. This year's event will be held on Saturday, June 24, from 9am-2pm and will support Gather's Meals 4 Kids program, which ensures the 500 Seacoast children who depend on free meals at school have access to nutritious food during summer vacation.

"Each year, Gather makes every effort to ensure that children who normally receive free and reduced-price lunch at school are fed during summer vacation when school is not in session, and we need the community's help,” says Anne Hayes, Executive Director of Gather. “Please support us in our efforts by donating time, money, or food from our wish list to ensure that each and every child has the nutrition they need to be healthy and well throughout the summer."

Due to the instability of the economy and recovery from COVID-19, Gather's food pantry has seen a drastic drop in nonperishable food and monetary donations.

Ryan Klink, The Music Hall's Director of Marketing and Communications, expressed the significance of Fill The Hall. "This event holds a special place in the community and given the challenges we have faced this past year, the need for assistance is as critical as ever. Together, we can make a tangible difference in our community."

Coordinators are looking for community organizations, businesses, and residents to fundraise online and run food drives within their groups, workplaces, and neighborhoods to help fill all 900 seats with nutritious food.

Join The Music Hall on Saturday, June 24, from 9 am to 2 pm to Fill The Hall with food or a monetary gift to help the people in our community who need it the most.

For over 200 years, Gather has provided nutritious food to those in need, and they need our support now more than ever. Fill The Hall benefits their Meals 4 Kids program, helping fill the gap when subsidized school meals are unavailable. They provide ten nutritious and delicious meals and snacks each week to over 500 children on the Seacoast for the 11 weeks of summer. It takes more than 60 tons of food to do this.

Help Gather reach their goal of food donations by bringing things such as any canned goods; pancake mix; personal care items like toilet paper, shampoo, oral care; and more!  They are also looking for shelf-stable milk and milk alternatives, juice, snacks, and gluten-free items.   

Gather's mission is to offer innovative programs that build food security in welcoming and dignified ways.  For over 200 years, Gather has provided fresh, healthy food to individuals experiencing food insecurity in Greater Seacoast communities. Gather believes access to food is a fundamental human right and provides nutritious foods in welcoming, dignified ways that foster connection and community-building. 

www.gathernh.org

The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus—one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Lounge around the corner.