SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A Sioux Falls church is hosting a benefit concert to help fight food insecurity.
The fifth annual Down Home for the Holidays Concert is scheduled for Sunday, November 24 at 3 p.m. at Messiah New Hope Lutheran Church.
The concert benefits Bread Break, a program at the church started in 2011. They take unused food from restaurants and use it to feed the needy.
“A city the size of Sioux Falls will throw away something like 8 million pounds of food every year, and there are people who are hungry and need food,” church pastor Eric Ohrtman said.
The charity started small, with a few couples and a van making the first trips. Now, volunteers collect food from about 30 different locations, like restaurants, cafeterias and supermarkets. They deliver food to 46 different partner organizations.
One of the partners is the Ronald McDonald House in Sioux Falls, which provides a place to stay for families with children in the hospital.
“This past winter a gentleman approached us thanking us for bringing food,” whose granddaughter had been in the hospital for months, church member Carol Dreke said.
The charity does more than provide food. It also prevents food waste in South Dakota from piling up.
“Food that otherwise goes to the dumpster now goes to the people that need it,” Dreke said. “That ultimately saves the city of Sioux Falls and all the people that live there money too.”
Ohrtman said the program has reclaimed about 280,000 pounds of food this year.
Boyd Bristow and the Poker Alice Band will perform at the concert, mixing in country, bluegrass, classic rock, and even a few Christmas tunes.
Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance and can be purchased by calling 605-351-3140.
