TSO joins Feeding America to benefit NW Ohio Food Bank
Due to last year’s great success, The Toledo Symphony Orchestra will be participating again in Orchestras Feeding America, the second annual national food drive involving America’s symphony orchestras. The Toledo Symphony, in partnership with the Girl Scouts of America, will be collecting non-perishable food at concerts taking place on March 26, 27 and 28 at the Peristyle. The food will then be donated to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc.
The food drive will be part of a three-performance weekend for the Toledo Symphony. On Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, the Toledo Symphony, under Stefan Sanderling, performs music of Strauss and Brahms in the Classics Series performance “A Bow to Brahms.” Works include Strauss’ Till Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks, Death and Transfiguration, and Brahms’ Violin Concerto featuring violinist Jennifer Frautschi. On Sunday March 28, the Toledo Symphony will celebrate the immense musical talent of our region's young people. Winners of the 2009 Toledo Symphony League Young Artist Competition will appear with the Toledo Symphony, while the musicians of the Toledo Youth Orchestra join their professional colleagues in a side-by-side performance.
Items that will be accepted are dry foods and non-food items such as soap, conditioner and diapers (no baby food, formula or homemade items, please). For a complete list of needed items, visit http://www.toledofoodbank.org/Donate.htm
As a result of the food drive last year, the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank received 1,475 pounds of food from the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, enough food for 1,152 meals! The orchestra is very excited to be involved with the food drive again this year, and hopes to exceed the number of food donations from last year.
Said Renee Goubeaux, Toledo Symphony cellist, “We are all aware of the effects of this economic crisis, but we cannot let that stop us from helping our neighbors in greater need. Our orchestra’s music uplifts people, but with this project we can do more to support the community that has supported us for so long.”
To date, 150 orchestras in 41 states have come together to combat hunger in their communities through Orchestras Feeding America, and the number of participants is increasing daily. The project will take place in March and April, and is organized by the League of American Orchestras, which represents the nation’s professional, volunteer, and youth orchestras, and Feeding America’s network of over 200 food banks and 63,000 agencies. In 2009, orchestras collected more than 200,000 pounds of food!
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.
Press Release Contact Name: Kristen Celek
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 419-418-0053
Organization Name: Toledo Symphony Orchestra
Website or Link: www.toledosymphony.com
Organization Address: Toledo, OH