Carleton Place musician nears $10,000 food bank fundraising goal in initiative inspired by personal food insecurity experience
When Andrew Jahn takes to the mic during the final concert of his year-long fundraiser later this month, he will be performing for an organization that once helped him put food on his own table.
The local musician and recent University of Ottawa graduate has raised $9,030.50 toward his $10,000 goal for the Lanark County Food Bank (The Hunger Stop) through his Something for Everyone campaign, putting him more than 90 per cent of the way to his target.
Jahn’s latest fundraising push has included a series of public performances outside the Carleton Place Tourism Centre, dubbed Busking for Everyone, as well as a six-day business matching campaign that generated over $2,000.
Anytime Fitness Carleton Place, the Knights of Columbus St. Volodymyr the Great Council 9557, Reid Gardens, and arts philanthropist Marg Campbell have all matched donations to help reach the $10,000 goal, which Jahn said will allow the food bank to purchase two months’ worth of milk and eggs.
In an interview with Lanarkist, Jahn shared that this campaign is deeply personal for him, stemming from his experience as a struggling student during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between 2019 and 2022, Jahn says he relied on The Hunger Stop while pursuing his degree in developmental service work.
“I was a completely independent student. I did not have a safety net to fall back on,” Jahn recounted. “I went through periods where I could not afford groceries and the monthly visit to Lanark County Food Bank was a lifeline for me.”
Like many Canadians, being able to feed himself three warm meals a day was not a given for Jahn. “If my car payments and rent exceeded my income, then I just didn’t buy groceries,” he explained. “There were many times when I had $5 left for groceries for the week, and I would ration my two eggs for breakfast and lentils for dinner.”
Jahn told Lanarkist that he first discovered the food bank in October 2019 and going home with a full cart of groceries was “a life changing moment” for him.
But receiving that much-needed help also came with feelings of embarrassment and shame for Jahn, who said he often wore a black hoodie to avoid being recognized by people he may know in the community.
“There is a sense of shame and embarrassment that people who need food bank services often feel,” he said. “My goal is to break that stigma and make food insecurity a safe topic to discuss.”
After entering the University of Ottawa’s bachelor of music program in 2022, Jahn gradually began building greater economic stability. He recently graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2026 and has since been working toward establishing himself in the classical commissioning world under the mentorship of Canadian Composer Iman Habibi.
He began fundraising for The Hunger stop back in September 2025 with the eventual goal of raising $10,000. He said the inaugural event at Almonte Old Town Hall brought in $1,859, followed by a second concert in April that raised another $2,705.
“Throughout the year, people have been donating online, and my Busking for Everyone mini-series and business matches drove the project passed 90 per cent as of Aug. 7,” Jahn stated.
On a broader scale, he hopes his campaign will help make food insecurity a more comfortable topic to discuss publicly, while reminding residents to have empathy and support one another.
“Food insecurity can hit anyone at anytime, and having a community safety net is absolutely paramount for our community,” he urged.
Jahn noted that the scale of food insecurity in the community has changed dramatically in recent years. While the food bank once spent about $5,000 a month supporting roughly 500 people, it now spends about $40,000 a month supporting approximately 1,900 people.
“My hope is that this project will open the larger community up to the realization of the local food affordability crisis and encourage long-term awareness and support for the food bank,” he told Lanarkist.
Jahn’s campaign will culminate with the final Something for Everyone concert on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Almonte United Church. Local business owners Chris Hashimoto and Holly Agnew, of Limelight Chiropractic and Agnew Law Group, respectively, will be co-matching matching donations of up to $250 at the door.
Looking ahead, Jahn said “there is going to big a big expansion.” He is preparing to launch a self-directed Canadian food bank concert tour, with his next confirmed performance scheduled for Jan. 16, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Shrine in Ottawa.
He said he will also partner with Algonquin College Chaplaincy and Knights of Columbus Council 9557 to help raise money for Shepherds of Good Hope. Jahn also plans to continue fundraising for Lanark County Food Bank with a Christmas concert and bring Busking for Everyone back next summer.