The annual distribution of school supplies and a meet-and-greet with community leaders and educators known as the Nashua Goes Back to School event drew an estimated 1,200 people to the Nashua Public Library Plaza on Thursday.

“This is where I learned to read — here, and at Birch Hill Elementary School,” U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., said in brief remarks as she gestured toward the library. Speaking mainly to parents with kids in tow, she added, “I want you to reach out to us.”

The number of agencies and organizations participating in the popular event reached 40 this year, having grown in increments since its founding 22 years ago, according to key organizer and former city alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi Golja.

Each of the city’s 12 public elementary schools, three middle schools an

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