The MCHS Instrumental Music department hosted its 15th annual Showcase Concert on Saturday, January 18th to benefit the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank. Various instrumental music ensembles played for four hours in the MCHS cafeteria.
This year, the band and orchestra collected 212 pounds of non-perishable goods and $2,544. According to Hawkeye Harvest, this sum paid for most of the food purchased for the food bank in the month of January.
The Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank serves 9 counties in north-central Iowa. It fed more than ten thousand families in 2024. Forty-four percent of mouths fed by Hawkeye Harvest were under the age of 18.
“Our greatest needs at the moment would be dealing with the high cost of food,” said Hawkeye Harvest volunteer Carol Clayton, “We purchase eggs and milk locally and the high cost is limiting what we are able to purchase.”
Over the past four years, students have collected a total of around 17,000 items for the food bank through the showcase concert.

Ensembles that performed on Saturday included the orchestra, symphonic band, concert band, pep band, and jazz band. Band directors Mr. Russel Kramer, Mr. Aaron Anderson, and Mr. Bennett Walker also performed a small jazz selection on trumpet, drum set, and bass, respectively.
Despite several cancellations due to inclement weather, this tradition has persevered through the years, with this year being the 15th annual occurrence of the concert. According to Kramer, the Showcase Concert tradition was initially started as a fundraiser for the biannual Instrumental Music Department trip.
More recently, it has turned its focus toward raising money for the community.
The food bank accepts donations 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays at the food bank. Monetary donations can be shared through check or PayPal. “We can use just about everything that is donated to us,” said Clayton.