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Musically Fed
June 28, 2023
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When I first learned of the Musically Fed organization at this year’s CMA Fest, I thought to myself, “Wow, this really is ‘The Bigger Picture.’” Not only does this organization feed the hungry, but it takes it to the next level. All levels actually. As members of the music industry, how many times have you been to events where when it was all said and done there was a bunch of untouched food sitting on tables that will never be eaten? How many times have you walked into a backstage room for an artist at a concert, witnessed what was on their rider for a show sitting on the table and thought to yourself, “What a waste?” If you are in radio, how many times have you thrown away pizzas and sandwiches in the breakroom that were just sitting there after a conference room performance or ratings party?
It happens all the time. Forty percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year. Musically Fed is mobilizing the music industry in the fight against hunger. The organization works with artists, promoters, management, and venues nationwide to donate unused backstage meals to community organizations that feed people facing homelessness, hunger, and food insecurity. Musically Fed identifies the opportunities, gathers the resources, and coordinates all aspects of food handling, transport, and distribution in cities across the country. The goal is “To make it easy for promoters and performers to leave each city they visit with a lasting, positive impact.”
The Phoenix-based non-profit was started by 40-year industry professional and President and Founder of Insight Management, Maria Brunner. She started Musically Fed in honor of her husband. who was a Vietnam veteran. “I truly didn’t understand the meaning of that until his sudden passing,” she says. “In reaching out to other Vietnam vets in Phoenix, I learned that many of them were in need. Those who are homeless don’t eat on a regular basis, and what they do eat isn’t necessarily healthy. Many local organizations were – and still are – struggling to help.”
According to Brunner, she proceeded to see if she could put together a viable program that would repurpose unused backstage catering from concerts and festivals, that would serve agencies that are comprised of at least 50% veterans. In 2016, thanks to Premier Event Production’s Jake Berry, Terry Burke from Live Nation, Mitch Katz of Arizona Catering, Ralph Marchetta, the GM of Talking Stick Arena, and the members and crew of U2, Brunner’s first effort enabled Musically Fed to provide over 300 meals to outreach programs in the Phoenix community.
Word of their efforts and success got around fast, and two weeks later, the Louis Messina Group, Kenny Chesney, and Tour Cats made Musically Fed their tour partners. This took the mission to a national level, and in the same year, the Zac Brown Band and Fleetwood Mac invited Musically Fed on their national tours to feed people in need. They took it to a level beyond just veterans.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Brunner saw what may have been a challenge for Musically Fed because all major events and tours were being shut down across the country. That didn’t sit well with her. She discovered through the industry that the executive chef for Levy at Staples Center needed to unload perishable food after the arena was forced to cancel events due to the spread of Covid-19 in Los Angeles County. One day later, 12 pallets of food were delivered to the Midnight Mission and Los Angeles Mission located near Skid Row, turning food intended for events at Staples Center in Los Angeles into 24,000 meals for shelters and missions across the city.
According to Billboard, the non-profit also collected an assortment of packaged food and drinks from the Los Angeles Convention Center that week to distribute to local students after the Los Angeles Unified School District closed its schools to help lessen the spread of coronavirus, leaving many public-school children across the county without school-provided meals.
During CMA Fest 2023, organizers were forced to permanently shut down all of the outdoor stages in downtown Nashville due to extreme thunder and lightning storms. That made for a lot of unused catering. Musically Fed was on site for the entire event, which made it possible to rescue everything that was untouched. Over 2,500 meals were saved and sent to local charities in addition to what was already repurposed from the three-day event.
Brunner, who worked for concert promoter Concerts West for 14 years before launching Musically Fed, relies heavily on music industry partners for success. Some of the high-profile artists the non-profit has worked with include U2, Florida Georgia Line, Shawn Mendes, Elton John, Kenny Chesney, The Lumineers, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones and more. Fast forward to 2023, and Musically Fed has many other industry partners, including CMA Fest, which not only covers to outdoor stages in downtown Nashville, but also the Nissan Stadium shows that take place throughout the weekend. Other partners include Live Nation, C3, AEG, Warner Music Nashville, WWE Raw, Lollapalooza, The Grammys, and more.
Musically Fed also relies heavily on volunteers in each individual city where they operate. According to Brunner, volunteers are what she needs the most (especially in the Nashville and Phoenix areas). And honestly, volunteering sounds like a blast. You get a behind the scenes look at where major artists and their crews dine, what’s on their riders and whether or not they want green M&Ms only. And you get a behind the scenes look at events as high end as the Grammys. In fact, the group repurposed vegetables and beef at the MusiCares event and collected all of the unused suite and crew food at the 2023 Grammys. Hospitality company Levy provided food and beverage services, and venue operator AEG executed its usual composting and other sustainability practices. The nonprofit's volunteers collected enough food to provide 1,048 meals, with donations going to The Midnight Mission, the Los Angeles Mission, Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women' Hawkes Transitional Residence and Good Shepherd's Languille Shelter.
To me, Musically Fed is the true example of “The Bigger Picture.” Using the influence, power, and charitable nature of one of the biggest industries in existence to benefit a growing tragedy in our country. “Music Feeds the Soul, And Musically Fed Feeds the Hungry!”
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