Meal or No Meal 2011

[See event photo gallery!]

Thousands of Martin County residents will be able to receive food and other basic human needs thanks to House of Hope’s sixth annual Meal or No Meal Community Awareness Dinner.

The event, held Nov. 4 at St. Mary’s Pittenger Center in Stuart, netted more than $41,000 for the agency, which provides food, clothing, furniture, case management and financial assistance to Martin County residents in need.

Meal or No Meal is a mission-focused event that brings people together for a simple, heartwarming dinner with community-based entertainment and good fellowship. Attendees and donors support a fund-raiser with very little overhead, so they can have the confidence that they will be directly helping people in our community who are suffering from the pain and stress of hunger and economic crisis.

The event’s name is derived from the serious decisions far too many of our neighbors face every day: Will I be able to pay the light bill or the rent? Buy groceries or medicine? Will my family have a meal on the table, or no meal?

At Meal or No Meal, dinner is presented by volunteers – many of whom prepare the free meals at local community kitchens each night of the week throughout Martin County.

The volunteer cooks and servers this year included members from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hobe Sound Community Presbyterian Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church, First Baptist Church in Jensen Beach, Temple Beit HaYam and West Palm Beach Marriott.

Entertainment was provided by the St. Joseph Catholic School Jazz Band and the Treasure Coast Community Singers. The event featured a silent auction and a special drawing for a $2,000 travel voucher from Jensen Beach Travel Service.

The new chairwoman of the event was Meg Rogers, who is in membership and corporate sales at PGA Golf Club. She stepped in for Kerry Caruso and Judy Rosenthal, the founding co-chairwomen who led the event for its first five years.

Event comittee members from left, Dale Hudson, Debbie Flerx, Elizabeth Barbella (House of Hope CEO), Meg Rogers (event chairwoman) and Bob Schneider.