Fill Every Seat to Help a Local Child in Need
The 5th Annual Fill the Hall Food Drive is Saturday, June 22. I spoke with Deb Anthony, Executive Director at Gather, about what this event means for the community and the need to fill every seat.
What inspired this collaboration?
Denise Wheeler inspired this. She lives the arts, and she is very invested in solving hunger and Gather’s Summer Meals 4 Kids program. She brought The Music Hall and Gather together.
What has contributed to its success year after year?
This is one of the most amazing events. The commitment of The Music Hall to the Seacoast makes it a perfect fit for them to collaborate in the effort to stop hunger here in our community. Fill the Hall is a huge supporter of Summer Meals 4 Kids and Gather’s other food programs. Then, the entire community comes together for a very simple and profound reason: children living here in 2019 should not be hungry. It is magical.
Tell us more about the need for this food drive, who benefits from it?
Each summer we provide weekly food to children across the Greater Seacoast through our Summer Meals 4 Kids program to replace “free and reduced breakfast and lunch” due to school break. We support over 500 children a week for up to 11 weeks and all school vacations with food to ensure they have breakfast and lunch.
What items are needed the most?
Peanut butter, jelly, box cereal, and healthy snacks. See the full list on the event page.