Many people tend to think of world hunger as a problem associated with third world countries and inner city slums. But, hunger is a serious issue right here in New Hampshire. Many working families struggle to pay for food, rent, medicine and other basic necessities—even here on the Seacoast. 

Share Our Strength is an international organization dedicated to ending world hunger. One of the group’s initiatives is Operation Frontline, a nutrition education program that teaches people to shop smart, eat healthy and cook efficiently. The six-week courses are offered year-round on the Seacoast and are free of charge to eligible citizens.

Funding for the Seacoast courses comes primarily from an annual “Share Your Love” dinner. In 2005, the dinner was held at The Library Restaurant in Portsmouth. The following year, it was held at Robert’s Maine Grill in Kittery. Both dinners sold out, raising $10,000 each for Operation Frontline.

Organizers hope to match that success with the 2008 “Share Your Love” dinner, which will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Brazo Restaurant in Portsmouth. The multi-course sit-down dinner will include gourmet delicacies and beverages from a number of Seacoast restaurants. Share Our Strength Seacoast is offering 100 tickets at $100 apiece, most of which have already sold. The dinner is made possible by a partnership between Operation Frontline and the N.H. Food Bank.

Chefs from at least five competing restaurants will unite to bring the gourmet dinner to Brazo. The Green Monkey will offer a festive specialty cocktail, and Kittery’s Beach Pea Baking Co. will provide fresh-baked breads. Ristorante Massimo will contribute carpaccio bites, halibut rillette and other hors d’oeuvres, followed by a course of scallop crudo with black truffles and caviar from The Dunaway. The Black Trumpet will serve celeriac soup and lobster escabeche, to be followed by braised short ribs with blue crab polenta cake from Brazo. Dessert will come in the form of chocolate stuffed kumquats with blood orange gelato from Pesce Blue. There will also be coffee from Carpe Diem and wine pairings from J. Lohr Winery and Martignetti Wines.

Liz Pruyn, co-chair of the local Operation Frontline committee, was responsible for recruiting volunteer chefs to cook the dinner. She said the chefs typically enjoy sharing their talents for the cause.

“They all work together in the kitchen and they have a wonderful time,” she said.

As she planned this year’s dinner, Pruyn approached Phelps Dieck, owner of Brazo and The Green Monkey, both located on Pleasant Street in Portsmouth. Dieck volunteered to host the dinner at Brazo, which just opened in August, and her employees volunteered to spend the night cooking, waiting tables and bartending without pay.

Pruyn also teaches a children’s nutrition course for Operation Frontline. She has seen firsthand how much the educational courses benefit young students. “It’s just phenomenal to see how they flourish from the nutritional component,” she said.

The adult curriculum includes courses in cooking skills, nutrition basics, food budgeting and sanitation. One course includes a tour of a supermarket, teaching students to hunt for nutritious and economic bargains. The course teaches shoppers how to decide whether certain coupons will actually save them money or convince them to buy something they wouldn’t otherwise buy. It also explains when it is advisable to buy in bulk quantities. Purchasing bags of rice and beans, for example, is more economic than buying individual TV dinners, Pruyn said.

According to Becca Story, program coordinator for the N.H. Food Bank, there are a number of simple techniques for saving money in the kitchen. Frontline courses teach people to make the most of leftovers and minimize wastefulness by storing ingredients properly. Another tip is to buy bleach as sanitizer instead of more expensive pre-made store brands.

Story emphasizes that hunger affects an increasing number of people on the Seacoast. Demand for assistance from food pantries and other local programs has been on the rise over the past several years, she said.

“New Hampshire, although it does have the lowest poverty rate of the U.S., we still feel the pressure of hunger and poverty here,” Story said.

Nationally, more than 12 million children are at risk of hunger. Share Our Strength has raised more than $200 million across the globe to fight hunger, and the Seacoast branch is doing its part to help out. The Operation Frontline courses are made available to citizens who make 185 percent or less of the poverty level, and various agencies and after school programs recruit students. The six-week courses meet once a week.

The “Share Your Love” dinner is from 7-10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Brazo Restaurant, 75 Pleasant St., Portsmouth. To purchase a tax deductible $100-ticket, visit www.tasteofthenation.org/portsmouth or call Brazo at 603-431-0050 or the Beach Pea at 207-439-3555.