Nashua Fall Food & Wine Festival To Benefit End 68 Hours Of Hunger

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  Published in Food and Wine on Thu, Sep 9th, 2025 by Patch

Nashua Fall Food & Wine Festival Raises Funds to End 68 Hours of Hunger

Nashua, NH – What began as a culinary celebration in late September quickly evolved into a powerful community‑wide call to action. The 2023 Nashua Fall Food & Wine Festival, held from September 28 to 30 at the downtown Nashua Green, concluded the season with a staggering $68,000 raised for the local food‑bank partnership that aims to put an end to the “68 hours of hunger” that many residents face each month.

The festival, which has been a staple of the city’s fall calendar for the past eight years, was designed to showcase the city’s vibrant food scene while raising awareness of hunger in the region. It was a blend of gastronomic delights, wine pairings, live entertainment, and a spirited charity drive. With 35 local vendors and 18 wineries on-site, the event attracted more than 12,000 visitors—an increase of 18% over the previous year.

A Mission Beyond the Menu

“The real purpose of the festival is not just the food and wine, but the community we’re building together,” said festival director Amanda McLeod, who has overseen the event since its inception. “The headline—ending 68 hours of hunger—was a direct reference to the statistic released by the Nashua Food Bank last month, which reports that on average, residents experience a period of food insecurity that equates to 68 consecutive hours without access to a regular meal.”

The Nashua Food Bank, which operates in partnership with the local church and a coalition of nonprofits, collects, stores, and distributes food to those in need. The “68 hours of hunger” campaign is a statewide initiative led by the New Hampshire Food Bank Network that tracks how many hours, on average, families spend without adequate food during a crisis.

“Our goal was to raise enough funds to purchase a new refrigeration unit, purchase additional food items, and expand the volunteer kitchen,” McLeod added. “The $68,000 raised will go directly toward that equipment and to fund emergency food parcels for families in crisis.”

The Lineup

The festival’s culinary lineup featured a mix of home‑grown and regionally sourced fare. Local chef‑starters included The Greenhouse Café’s vegan mushroom risotto, a savory lamb shank from the New England Farmhouse, and a signature pumpkin cheesecake by Sweet Treats Bakery. Each dish was paired with a wine from one of the participating local vineyards—Red Rock Vineyards, Blue Ridge Cellars, and Hawthorne Cellars—allowing guests to experience the nuances of wine pairings that complement specific flavors.

In addition to the food and wine, the festival hosted a “Food for Thought” panel that brought together a food‑bank volunteer, a city council member, and a local dietician to discuss the root causes of hunger and ways the community can get involved. “We’re also launching a ‘Food Bank Volunteer Passport’ that allows attendees to earn rewards for volunteering at the food bank,” said councilwoman Maria Gonzales, who was also a key supporter of the festival’s charitable component.

Community Involvement

The event was a collaborative effort between the City of Nashua, the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, the local food‑bank, and the state’s Department of Agriculture. The city provided a permit, security, and a small grant for the festival’s operational costs, while the Chamber contributed marketing and sponsorships. Over 150 volunteers from the community helped set up booths, manage the ticket line, and hand out free food vouchers to visitors.

Local media coverage further amplified the festival’s reach. In addition to the Patch.com article that highlighted the fundraising milestone, the Nashua Voice ran a feature on the “68 hours of hunger” statistic and included a link to the food bank’s donation page, which now includes a dedicated “Festival Funds” section. The festival’s official website, www.nashuafoodfestival.com, features a virtual gallery of the event and a press kit for journalists.

The Numbers

• Funds Raised: $68,000 (exceeds 2022’s $52,000 by 31%).
• Volunteer Hours: 1,200 hours contributed by community members.
• Visitors: 12,000 total across the three-day event.
• Vendors: 35 local food & beverage vendors.
• Wineries: 18 participating local wineries.

The funds will purchase a new 500‑cubic‑foot refrigerated storage unit, allowing the food bank to expand its inventory by 20%. Additionally, the remaining funds will be used to create a “Hunger Relief Kit” that includes non‑perishable items and a voucher for a local meal‑prep service.

Looking Ahead

While the festival celebrated a monumental win in its charitable goals, the organizers are already planning next year’s event. “We’re expanding to include a kids’ cooking workshop, a sustainability corner, and a larger partnership with the local school district to provide cooking classes for students,” said McLeod.

Mayor Thomas Evans, who was present at the ceremony to accept the award, emphasized the broader impact of the festival. “This is a testament to what we can achieve when local businesses, government, and citizens come together for a common cause,” he said. “Our collective efforts are now closing that 68‑hour window of hunger for many families.”

The Nashua Fall Food & Wine Festival’s final curtain call on Sunday evening was not just a farewell to the city’s most celebrated culinary event but a powerful reminder that community, when it comes together around shared values, can turn data into action—ending, one year at a time, the 68 hours of hunger that have plagued the city for too long.