Here’s Something Good We Can Do Together.
SHOP, SAVE & SUPPORT local food security this Hunger Action Month.
September is Hunger Action Month, a time to raise awareness about hunger, but also a time to remember just how much we can accomplish when we take action together.
Sometimes the problems around us can feel really big. It can be hard to know where to begin or what one person can possibly do to make a difference.
But taking care of our neighbors can start with something wonderfully simple: a few groceries, a full FREEdge, and a community that shows up for one another.
That’s why, for Hunger Action Month, we’re bringing back our Back to School Food Drive, with one big, joyful goal:
Let’s collect 1,000+ grocery items for our Community FREEdge!
The need is growing.
New Hampshire is seeing a troubling rise in food insecurity, especially among children.
Feeding America’s 2025 Map the Meal Gap report estimated that 36,160 New Hampshire children, 14.4%, or roughly 1 in 7, were experiencing food insecurity.
This year’s numbers are even higher. The newly released 2026 report estimates that 38,430 New Hampshire children, roughly 1 in 6, experience food insecurity. That’s an increase of more than 6% in just one year.
At the same time, changes to SNAP are putting additional pressure on a food assistance system that tens of thousands of Granite Staters depend on. In 2024 alone, 76,900 New Hampshire residents relied on SNAP… including 25,000 children.
Those are big numbers. But they’re made up of people… kids, families, seniors, friends and neighbors in communities just like ours.
Hunger Action Month is about turning awareness into action. And while we can’t solve every enormous problem happening around us, we can do something meaningful right here, together.
We can grab a few extra groceries. We can fill some shelves. We can make sure good food is there when a neighbor needs it.
And we can have a little fun seeing just how high we can pile up food on the donation table by the end of September.
So, we’re going for 1,000 items!
Beginning September 1st, look for specially marked Food Drive items throughout Sweet Beet Market.
Buy 3 or more Food Drive items to donate, and we’ll take 10% OFF your entire Market purchase!
SHOP: Pick up three or more Food Drive items while you’re here.
SAVE: Get 10% off your entire Market purchase.
SUPPORT: Leave your donated items with us, and we’ll get them into the hands of neighbors who need them.
Where does all that food go? Right into our Community FREEdge!
Located at Sweet Beet Market + Café, the FREEdge is our on-site food pantry offering 24/7, no-questions-asked access to food for anyone who needs it.
Throughout the year, Kearsarge Food Hub keeps the FREEdge stocked with fresh produce and prepared foods.
The nonperishable groceries collected during the Back to School Food Drive complement those fresh offerings and help us keep the shelves stocked for months to come.
Making nourishing food more accessible is at the heart of Kearsarge Food Hub’s work. We believe everyone in our community has the right to access nourishing, locally produced food, and our food security work combines immediate hunger relief with the longer-term work of building food sovereignty and a more resilient local food system.
This is Hunger Action.
A jar of applesauce. A box of pasta. A few cans of beans.
One person adds three things to the pile. Then another person does. And another.
And suddenly, we’ve filled a FREEdge over and over again.
That’s the spirit we want to celebrate this Hunger Action Month: small actions adding up to something much bigger.
A community where we look out for each other. Where nourishing food is something we share. Where we remember that even when the world feels overwhelming, we still have the power to make our little corner of it more caring, connected, resilient … and joyful.
So come shop, save a little money, add something to the pile, and help us take care of the people closest to us.
1,000+ items. One month. One community showing up for its neighbors.
The Back to School Food Drive starts September 1st.
Come on in and let’s fill that FREEdge!
(and an online store for you donate bulk items coming soon!)