BRUNSWICK

Music by dozens of bands at several local venues raised dollars this weekend for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program.

The anti-hunger program is located in Brunswick and led by Karen Parker.

The “Singing for their Supper” event, sponsored by Portland radio station WCLZ, brought awareness to hunger prevention with music and donations in a practice known as “busking,” when a performer or group puts out a jar or a guitar case to collect money.

The Pete Kilpatrick Band, with Adam Gardner of Guster, kicked off the event Friday night with a sold-out show at the Frontier Cafe. Saturday’s free performances included Albee, String Tide, Jud Caswell, Anna Lombard, Gunther Brown, Jay Basiner, Amy Allen, Dominic and the Lucid, Eric Bettencourt, Sara Cox and Zach Jones.

Parker said the program has strong support in the Brunswick area but that need for its services is rising. She said corporate sponsors chipped in nearly $10,000 for the “Singing for Their Supper” event.

The program has served 36,000 lunches in the past year to residents in eight towns — an 11 percent increase from last year.

Parker said many of the new faces are people 18 to 25 years old. The program serves lunches five days a week and serves as a food pantry three days a week.

“There are no buffet lines,” said MCHP volunteer and board member Claudia LaBella Adams. “The founders … felt the clients who we care for spend enough time in line, so we have waiters and waitresses to serve the meals.”

Information from The Bangor Daily News was included in this report