Upscale Portsmouth, New Hampshire Restaurant Opens Doors for Shutdown Relief

If you have ever had the pleasure of having dinner at the Black Trumpet in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, you know how incredible the food is.  The Owner, Chef Evan Mallett, is a James Beard Award Semi-Finalist for the Best Chef in the Northeast - and that's just one of his accolades.

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Turns out, Chef Mallett not only has enormous knowledge of how to make delicious food with locally sourced ingredients, he also has a huge heart.

On the Black Trumpet Facebook page, they announced that every Monday, starting on November 3, 2025, the restaurant is opening up their doors, on their only day off by the way, to offer free lunch to those who are experiencing a hardship due to the Government shutdown and the removal of SNAP and EBT benefits.

The free lunch that the Black Trumpet is offering is for all who show up.  There are no requirements to receive a lunch.  Just go to 29 Ceres Street, downtown Portsmouth on Mondays during the shutdown from 12 noon until 2pm  They are bagging up lunches for anyone in need of a meal.

NH Restaurant Receives Help From Farmers in Efforts to Feed Local Families

Because feeding people is a passion for those who are in the restaurant business, (for the most part) the Black Trumpet is getting help from their partners in the local farming community.  Specifically, Meadows Mirth, Roots in Reverie, Native Maine Produce and Shaheen Brothers. 

If there is leftover donations or unclaimed lunches are coming to my house. WAIT, I mean... it will be picked up by Gather and will become part of their Waste Not food distribution program.

I have had the absolute pleasure of eating Chef Evan's food.  There is nothing on that menu that I wouldn't eat.  Everything is fresh and delicious. What a beautiful gesture of generosity and compassion for people who need help right now.

Chef Evan, in a piece done on his foraging skills by Yankee Magazine, appears to be so much more than a Chef.  Although we, who have eaten his food, are happy that we have his restaurant to go to, he seems like he could be a philosopher or poet.  He puts that much thought into serving the best food possible.