EASTHAMPTON — Each week, volunteers at the Easthampton Community Center distribute about 500 “Kid Bags,” packages of food that children can easily prepare without using a stove. While donations and matching programs help keep programs like this one running at the community center, the organization has to buy many pounds of food itself. To keep the Kid’s Bag Pantry program running smoothly, a musical fundraiser is being held Friday at the New City Brewery.

The fundraiser, called “Rock Out Hunger for Kids,” runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided by New City Brewery, music will be provided by local band The Juncos, and there will be a chance to win raffle prizes donated by local businesses. For Robin Bialecki, executive director of the community center, this is an opportunity to secure community support while creating a fun atmosphere.

“It’s not fun having to ask for food. We try to at least make it pleasant,” she said as she helped pack grocery bags on a Monday evening.

Outside the community center, volunteers hand out prepared food bags, and families take what they need from boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables or from the refrigerator inside the building. Just upstairs, other volunteers, often including local students who continue to come even after school hours have finished, work tirelessly every day to pack food bags for the center’s storage room. The room is lined wall to wall with shelves of food, but these are quickly used up in the course of a single day.

Bialecki says the center serves about 4,600 families, with an average of 250 families coming by daily to pick up food. Many families have multiple children, some of whom have dietary restrictions, which can make food insecurity even more difficult. About seven years ago, the center began focusing on the nutritional needs of those with restrictions. Today, Bialecki estimates that nearly 200 of the children she and her fellow volunteers feed are on gluten-free, allergen-free or halal diets.

“It’s really hard for parents. If you have a child who eats gluten-free, a loaf of bread costs like $8 and it’s, what, six slices?” she said.

But the community center doesn’t leave children with allergies alone. Every week, huge packages of food come through the center’s doors from companies like Schar, which produces certified gluten-free foods. When it comes to sourcing halal meat, Bialecki has a favorite slaughterhouse in Connecticut that she visits frequently and brings back coolers of meat that meets halal standards.

Kids’ bags for those with dietary restrictions are packed separately and handed out with the other bags, which contain everything from juice boxes to microwave noodles. Each bag is packed with nutritional health in mind, focusing on providing a sustainable amount of fats, nutrients and carbohydrates to keep up with kids’ nonstop energy.

Last year alone, Bialecki estimated, the center provided about 1.1 million kilograms of food to the community. In addition to feeding those in need, the center also provides diapers and strollers to families with young children, delivers groceries to seniors who must stay at home, and even offers food for dogs and cats.

Throughout the year, the center also offers used clothing to those in need, as well as winter coats for children during the winter. With the school year approaching, the center’s approximately 200 volunteers are working to fill backpacks for local children so they have everything they need to be successful in school.

The hard work of the volunteers has not gone unnoticed by Juncos member Matthew Slavich. Although he had donated to the center’s efforts a few times before, he wanted to find a way to make a bigger difference. When he reached out to Bialecki, a musical fundraiser with his band seemed like the obvious way to support and promote the center’s mission.

“They do incredible things for the community,” he said. “Robin is something of a legend in Easthampton … every time you mention Robin, there’s a story about what she did for a family.”

Slavich and his bandmates will play their music while attendees enjoy refreshments and try their luck in a drawing for prizes. Suggested donations for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All proceeds benefit the community center’s Kids Pantry. Donations can be made in advance on the community center’s website or at the door.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at [email protected].