SWAMPSCOTT — My Brother’s Table, the North Shore’s largest soup kitchen, is hoping to secure substantial funding through its upcoming “8 Million Meals Walk” on Sunday, Oct. 13.
The 3-mile walk begins at the First Church In Swampscott Congregational on 40 Monument Ave. at 2 p.m.
The event’s title was inspired by the number of meals the Lynn-based organization has provided since its inception in 1982.
While Executive Director Dianne Kuzia Hills described her organization’s goal of $40,000 as “lofty,” she expressed her confidence in the community’s ability to deliver.
Kuzia Hills emphasized why she feels fundraising events such as the walk are crucial to the kitchen, as it does not seek or accept any government funding due to its status as a hospitality-based charity.
“It’s been a particularly hard year for a lot of charities,” Kuzia Hills said. “Donations nationwide are down, and all of our expenses are up. We’re really trying very hard to get funds.”
She named the recent renovation of the kitchen’s dining space as another reason for the need to raise capital.
In comparison to other fundraisers My Brother’s Table hosts, Kuzia Hills said that the walk tends to attract a wide variety of age groups.
“We get a lot of young people, high school and middle school students that do it,” Kuzia Hills said.
She described the walk and similar fundraisers as serving an additional purpose of raising awareness of the challenge of hunger that still exists in the country.
“Domestic hunger is still very, very, very, real,” Kuzia Hills said.
Registration and sponsorship can be completed at mybrotherstable.org/walk.
All participants will be automatically entered into a raffle in which they will have the chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card.
Those who raise $40 will receive a complementary T-shirt.
On-site registration will be available leading up to the walk’s commencement. The walk’s route also crosses into Lynn.
