ENFIELD — In an effort to “drive away hunger,” Enfield Loaves and Fishes is hosting a charity golf tournament on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Grassmere Country Club.
Maya Nicole Matthews, executive director of Enfield Loaves and Fishes, said the nonprofit organization began hosting an annual tentpole fundraising last year.
Since becoming the executive director, Matthews has been searching for new and engaging ways to fund the community kitchen and get the community involved — obtaining more volunteers and involving local businesses — while also raising awareness of food insecurity.
In 2023, Enfield Loaves and Fishes celebrated its 40th anniversary and hosted a gala at Grassmere.
“We loved Grassmere and the food and the way they organized so much that we decided to try a golf tournament instead of a gala this year,” Matthews said.
The tournament will begin with a tee off at noon, followed by dinner at 4 p.m.
Matthews noted that there will also be a couple of games for people that are not golfing, as well as raffles and prizes.
“Everyone and anyone can participate,” explained Matthews. “It’s not just for golfers. You can either do golf and dinner, just golf, or just dinner.”
She went on to say that the event is reasonably priced, with golf and dinner costing $90 and just dinner costing $40. “We wanted to make it affordable so that any of our supporters can come,” she added.
Matthews shared they are hoping to have 72 golfers.
At press time, she said they were still looking for more sponsors, with sponsorships ranging from $50 for a tee sign, up to a platinum sponsorship of $2,500.
“One hundred percent of the proceeds go back to Enfield Loaves and Fishes and fighting food insecurity in the community,” Matthews said.
She went on to describe it as a “true charity fundraiser.”
There is no deadline for when people can sign up for the tournament, although it is preferred to do so early. Matthews said they will be able to take money for registration the day of.
The deadline for sponsorships is Monday, Sept. 16, as it allows for any prints or signage to be made ahead of time.
Those interested in playing in the tournament, attending the dinner or becoming a sponsor can visit enfieldloavesandfishes.org under the “Golf Tournament” tab.
Matthews shared, “We’ve been seeing a lot more of our neighbors struggling lately.”
When Matthews started, she said a lot of the individuals they served were retired veterans and single men. Now, she said there are a lot more children and families coming in and their resources are “getting stretched kind of thin.”
“We’re really hoping that the golf tournament will be successful to get an influx of some resources here because the need is growing,” she said.
Enfield Loaves and Fishes currently has two full-time paid staff and one part-time paid staff, with over 80 active volunteers throughout the week and a roster of over 400. Even with all that free assistance, Matthews said they own everything — their building and equipment — and items break down, they need maintenance and there are food items that need to be purchased if they run out.
“We are grant and donation based — we don’t get state or federal funding because we don’t ask for metrics from our guests. If you walk in the door you can eat,” she said.
Matthews shared that the organization does not qualify for more of those state dollars which is why they are trying to get more creative and find ways for the community to support them.
She emphasized that the community does keep the kitchen afloat, but they are finding that they need to provide for more people as they are the only ones in a 20-mile radius that provide a free meal daily.
“We need an increase in community support and we’re hoping that fun events like this will help get some buy-in from not only the community businesses but from our neighbors, our individuals,” she concluded.
