Humboldt Squad, a band based in the Santa Clarita Valley, will host Feed the SCV, a concert to raise funds and gather food for the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry on Nov. 6.

Funds raised from the event will help the Food Pantry to provide meals for hungry or food-insecure individuals and families in the area, approximately 50 percent of whom are children.

According to the nonprofit organization’s website, the pantry provided clients with more than one million pounds of food in 2009.

This inspired Humboldt Squad to help, according to Garett Dahl, manager and saxophonist for the band.

“The Food Pantry really needs a lot of help to feed families this holiday season,” Dahl said.

The concert will take place at 5 p.m. at the Newhall Legion Hall on Spruce St.

Six local bands will perform, including Humboldt Squad, Zebra TV, Set Match Run, Guilty by Association, Urban Blight, and The Dips.

All of the bands are comprised of local high school students.

Humboldt Squad is comprised of six members from Hart High School: Dahl, saxophone; Travis Gibbs, vocals and guitar; Dillon Carson, trumpet; Cesar Martinez, trombone; Chad Nix, drums, and from West Ranch High School Tommy Peterson, bass guitar.

Dahl is a junior at Hart High School. He plays clarinet in marching band and wind ensemble, and saxophone in jazz band.
Humboldt Squad plays original music in the ska/reggae/alternative genre.

Zebra TV is also comprised of members from Hart High School, while Set Match Run is comprised of members from Canyon High School.

Musical genres at the concert will include reggae, ska and alternative.

Admission price is $10, or $5 with two canned food or personal hygiene items.

All proceeds will be donated to the Food Pantry.

Staple items requested by the pantry include canned meats, canned soup, canned beans, canned fruit, canned tomatoes, peanut butter, dried soups, pasta, rice, beans, cereal, dry milk, toothbrushes, bar soap, shaving cream, deodorant and feminine hygiene products.

Requirements to become a pantry client include proof of residency in the Santa Clarita Valley, earnings of no more than 150 percent of guidelines established by the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and job search or disability information.
According to the pantry’s website, Los Angeles County is the hunger capital of the nation, with more than 8 percent of residents considered food-insecure.

The pantry is also in need of volunteers to pick up and deliver food donations, as well as stock and distribute donations on designated days at its Newhall location.

Dahl and his young musical peers are excited about the event and hope it will make a difference toward alleviating the hunger needs in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“We wanted to find a way that we could lend a hand, so we organized this event,” he said. “All of the bands that we asked to play said yes because they know this is a good cause.”

To find out more about the concert, visit the Humboldt Squad Facebook page.

For more information about the Santa Clarita Food Pantry, visit www.scvfoodbank.org.