The Greater Boston Food Banquet Raises Nearly $950,000 for Hunger Relief

On Thursday evening, April 26, close to 500 guests and sponsors joined the Board and staff of The Greater Boston Food Bank for its third annual Banquet. Bank of America was the Lead Sponsor for this year’s event, and Robert E. Gallery, Bank of America Massachusetts President and Kerry H. Sullivan, President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, served as Co-Chairs. “At Bank of America, giving back to the communities we serve is a critical component of how we do business,” noted Mr. Gallery. “We’re proud to partner with The Greater Boston Food Bank to address the pressing need for food assistance faced by so many individuals and families in Eastern Massachusetts.” GBFB’s Banquet is like no other fundraising dinner in that it takes place in our distribution facility in Boston. The evening began with cocktails on the roof and continued with dinner and a program held in the warehouse which had been transformed into an elegant banquet space. Catherine D’Amato, GBFB President & CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank delivered an address entitled “One Meal a Day”, reminding all in attendance of the importance of reaching the goal. “One meal a day equals 35 million meals a year or 45 million pounds of food. We are five million pounds away from achieving that goal. We are committed to reaching this new and historic milestone: One meal a day. This is a basic human right which most of us in the room take for granted.” During dinner, the Stajez Dance Company, from the Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club in Dorchester, and under the direction of Sophia Haynes-Cardwell, provided entertainment. The group of 16 young dancers/honor roll students between the ages of 7-17 has traveled and performed across the country. Later in the evening, Kim Weitkamp, a nationally recognized humorist, speaker, storyteller, addressed the room. She shared her personal story about when she and her husband were unable to feed their three small children, and turned to a local food pantry for assistance. Weitkamp went on to say that they received more than just food, but hope that things would get better – and better they did. Guests were inspired and through the combined efforts of everyone involved, nearly $950,000 was raised – enough to provide food for 2,219,379 meals, which is about 10 percent of GBFB’s goal to provide enough food for at least ONE MEAL A DAY by 2013 to those in need in our community.