A LOCAL musician set to host a fundraiser that could save a community pantry.

Romsey-based singer-songwriter Charlie Smith, 25, will perform at The Art House in Southampton that could potentially save their community pantry from closing. 

The event on Friday, March 3 will bring together musicians to raise money to help cover the pantry’s increasing costs.  

The non-profit social centre estimates that around 50-100 people use the pantry each week. It is available for those on low income or who are struggling financially, but this is not an exclusive requirement. 

“If you’re struggling and can’t pay a lot then you can just pay what you feel, which is open to everyone,” Charlie said.

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“They do hot food, standard grocery bits, biscuits and non-perishables which are also available to everyone, and you can just walk in.” 

“It’s so important because being in that situation is really hard to imagine for yourself. If you need food and you have no money, using a food bank is such a long process. So this offers a channel to go through that is somewhere you can go and they will provide for you, which is quite important.” 

Charlie explains that failure to raise enough funds would lead to more restrictions on the pantry’s weekly opening hours. “They were going to have to shut at least one full day.” 

The aim of Friday’s event is to bring the community together to support the pantry and keep its costs covered long enough to avoid the partial closure. 

When asked what people can expect from the event, Charlie said: “It’s going to be a little bit of a variety. It will be mostly acoustic and songwriter stuff so it will probably be quite folky. I’m quite alternative and acoustic but it will get a bit more varied as the evening progresses.

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All proceeds after booking fees will be donated directly to The Art House and Charlie himself will personally be matching any cash donation up to £100. 

Tickets for the event are charged on a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ basis, or a cashless donation of items for the community pantry will also be welcomed. 

“The target is to raise close to £150, but we’ll have to see how it goes. It’s another night of them staying open, so if we do well then it’s another night of The Art House making money.” 

Joining Charlie onstage will be musical guests Bo Gallows, Diego Parks, Simon Maggs and Rhirhi. 

If you would like to help support the community pantry you can visit their Patreon page, where they offer ‘pay-it-forward’ memberships, starting from just £2.50 per month. 

www.patreon.com/thearthouse