Harvest Hope Food Bank

SC Philharmonic Food Drive

3/27/2010

South Carolina Philharmonic Food Drive

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location: Koger Center For the Arts
Street: 1051 Greene Street
City/Town: Columbia, SC

Description COLUMBIA, S.C. – The nationwide Orchestras Feeding America food drive is giving the South Carolina Philharmonic a platform to help Harvest Hope feed the hungry in the Midlands with a Saturday, March 27 food drive.

Harvest Hope staff are setting up a site to collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations in the Koger Center lobby before and during the SCP's “Dance, Dance, Dance” at 7:30 p.m. on March 27th. Donations from all are welcome, and donors to the drive will receive an appreciation voucher good for half-price admission to a future 2010 SCP Masterworks concert.

This is the second consecutive year that America’s orchestras have mobilized their musicians, staff, volunteers and audiences to help alleviate hunger in communities across the country. The project is organized by the League of American Orchestras – which represents the nation’s professional, volunteer, and youth orchestras – and Feeding America and its network of more than 200 food banks and 63,000 agencies.

In 2009, 250 orchestras in all 50 states collected more than 200,000 pounds of food. Of that, 414 pounds went to Harvest Hope thanks to the generosity of SCP patrons, musicians, board and staff.

“We’re so happy to have another chance to partner with Harvest Hope to help people in our community, and we can’t wait to do even better than last year’s total,” said SCP Executive Director Rhonda Hunsinger.

The SCP urges patrons to visit the "Dance, Dance, Dance" page on SCPhilharmonic.com for donation guidelines and hunger facts.

49.1 million Americans, of which 16.7 million were children, lived in food-insecure households in 2008, according to the most recent USDA study. Each week, approximately 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance from an agency served by a Feeding America member. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.

The nationwide Orchestras Feeding America project was inspired by the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted Juilliard-trained string player who was living on the streets of Los Angeles as a result of a mental illness. Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez noticed Nathaniel, and was drawn to his talent, intelligence, and passion for Beethoven. Their relationship expanded to include staff and musicians of the L.A. Philharmonic and inspired the April 2009 film The Soloist from Participant Media, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures that stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. The Soloist and the Orchestras Feeding America project are testaments to the power of music.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Jason L. Rapp
Communications Director
721 Lady Street, Suite B
Columbia SC 29201
(p) 803.771.7937
(f) 803.771.0268
JasonRapp@SCPhilharmonic.com