Musically Fed Distributes 22,000 Meals To Nashville Production Staff & Nonprofits

Jason Davis – Musically Fed
Volunteers from Crew One Production and Rhino help Musically Fed distribute food to production staff July 13.

Renowned production director Jake Berry, Just a Bunch of Roadies co-founders Charlie Hernandez and Lori Tierney, Rhino Staging, Ben Jumper of Soundcheck Nashville, Kris O’Connor of Dega Catering and dozens of others teamed up with nonprofit Musically Fed last week to help feed more than 140 families of live event workers in Nashville.

Along with helping folks in need from the live industry, Musically Fed also distributed supplies to a number of Nashville nonprofits including Brad and Kim Paisley’s The Store, Matthew 25, Room In The Inn, Salvation Army, Nashville Rescue Mission, One Generation Away, Hands of Hope and Project Connect Nashville.

The July 13 car distribution at Soundcheck Nashville gave out more than 22,000 meals and several thousand pounds of dry goods, marking Musically Fed’s largest distribution yet, following events to feed those in need in Phoenix and Denver.

Maria Brunner, owner of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Insight Management, started Musically Fed in 2016 in honor of her late husband, who was a proud Vietnam veteran, to repurpose unused backstage catering from concerts and festivals to donate to community organizations that serve veterans. Musically Fed has recently expanded its efforts to donate meals to the families of production professionals who are out of work while mass gatherings are banned.

“We were able to provide 22,000 meals and take very good care of our own music / live entertainment community with our drive-through event that served 149 cars,” Brunner told Pollstar. “The people we served included stage crews, forklift drivers, riggers, lighting and sound guys, etc., many of whom are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits and are in dire need of nourishment. The food was enough to provide meals and dry goods for up to two weeks for each individual car. It really was an incredible experience.”

– Maria Brunner

Volunteers sorted and package the food, which arrived in Nashville the weekend before the July 13 event via two semis loaded with supplies. Each car at the distribution was given freshly-prepared frozen meals, fresh produce, dry goods, bottled water and other food products via Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Loaves & Fishes.

In a statement Brunner added, “Watching the whole community come together for our 8th and largest distribution nationwide, to help so many, was a force of nature. Thanks to Charlie Hernandez’s association with the historic Loaves & Fishes, we received food and other resources, originating from as far as Colorado and Minnesota, delivered to provide sustenance to an often overlooked group who are most likely to be the last to return to the workforce in the entertainment/live music industry. Through Jake Berry, Ben Jumper, Kris O’Connor and the dedication of so many others, we were able to pull this off.”

Brunner was recently honored as one of the “Caretakers” as part of Pollstar’s second annual Impact 50 list.