On Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 at 3pm, members of the Tallahassee and Florida State University community gathered at Faith Presbyterian Church for a concert in support of FSU’s Food for Thought Pantry.
Music for Food Tallahassee hosted the event free of charge. Attendees were encouraged to donate $20 for each adult in attendance and $5 for each student in attendance, in place of typical ticket costs. Food donations were also welcome.
The concert, titled Building Back with the 3 Bs featured chamber music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, performed by “Corinne Stillwell and friends,” according to a flier for the event.
The Managing Director of Music for Food Tallahassee, Erica Thaler, spoke to ABC 27 about the purpose of the event.
“We want people to realize that if they need resources, if they need food, there [to FSU’s food pantry] they can go and get help,” she said.
29% of students at four-year colleges like FSU experience food-insecurity and the number is even higher among students of color, U.S. News & World Report said in March 2022.
According to Music for Food Tallahassee’s Facebook page, the organization is a “musician-led initiative for local hunger relief.” The concerts the organization hosts are intended to “raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger, empowering any musicians who wish to use their artistry to further social justice.”
In a statement on their Facebook page the day following the concert, Music for Food Tallahassee discussed the outcome of the event.
“Very proud of our concert,” the organization said. “We are thrilled to support the FSU food for thought pantry with our concert and we appreciate the donations so many people made on the day.”
Music for Food Tallahassee is a local branch of the larger, nationwide Music for Food. Based out of Mass., the organization’s concerts have raised enough funds to create more than 2 million meals, according to their website.
FSU’s food pantry is run by the Department of Student Support and Transitions and has been in operation for 14 years– since 2009. The pantry is open from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday for students who are currently enrolled in FSU. It is located in University Center A, Suite 4148. In the first three weeks of 2022’s fall semester the pantry served 434 different students, according to a press release.
“The Pantry fills an important role on campus by providing food, including produce, and hygiene products at no cost to students and with low barriers to access,” Haley Gentile, a case manager at the Food for Thought Pantry said in the same press release. “Food insecurity has many faces; whether a student is navigating gaps in their budget due to cost-of-living increases or because of an unforeseen crisis, the Pantry is here to help supplement their monthly grocery bills without judgment.”
The pantry is currently seeking any donations of non-perishable food items, especially canned tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, granola bars, dry cereal, shelf-stable milk, almond milk, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, rice, dried beans, canned diced tomatoes, instant mashed potatoes and spices.
To learn more about FSU’s food pantry, visit dsst.fsu.edu.To learn more about Music for Food Tallahassee and future events, visit their Facebook page Music for Food Tallahassee. To learn more about Music for Food and how to donate, visit musicforfood.net.