Scott McKee likes meeting the people that Gather serves through its mobile markets and Meals 4 Kids program.
McKee, president of the board of directors for the Portsmouth nonprofit, was on site Tuesday while food was being distributed in Rochester.
McKee said he has been passionate about combating childhood hunger for neary 30 years.
“It kind of started as this vague notion that I wanted to give something back to my community,” McKee said.
McKee said he moved to Portsmouth in 1994 and some of the early friends that he made were involved in an anti-hunger organization called Share Our Strength, which puts on the restaurant-based Taste of the Nation.
McKee became involved with the organization and said he served on the board for 17 years.
McKee said when his children were little, he volunteered at their elementary school thanks to his schedule as an airline pilot.
“It wasn’t really until I was in the schools that I was face-to-face with the fact that for every hungry family, there are often hungry children.”
McKee said as a parent, it bothered him that in an abundant society, children worried about where their meals would come from.
McKee said after his service with Share Our Strength, he started working with Gather, which was then known as The Seacoast Family Food Pantry.
At the time, Executive Director Deb Anthony was building a new board of directors.
“We wanted to break the old pantry model, which is still the case in most of the country today, which is they hand you a bag of something that they’ve got on hand, so they pre-select it, you don’t get a choice,” McKee said.
McKee said Gather decided to get into the communities it serves and offer free food distribution in a farmer’s market style where people have options for items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, milk and cheese.
Despite all of Gather’s success in alleviating hunger, the work is far from done, McKee said: There are a number of young adults just out of college who come through the line during mobile markets, as well as people who have been food insecure for a long time.
Anthony said that McKee is a great leader who goes out every week to food distribution sites because he is committed to the cause and is an advocate for children’s welfare.
“He’s made a lifetime commitment to support children and hunger organizations,” Anthony said. “He’s such a kind, and generous, and really thoughtful person.”
Funds are being raised for hunger organizations such as Gather through the Portsmouth Together 200 Challenge, and there is a donation button on Gather’s website.
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