“What kind of salt do you use?”, “Where do you find great olives?” and “What if I don’t have a steamer for the tamales?” all good questions our chef partners were happy to answer with hundreds of participants in this Fall’s sold our virtual event series, Eat, Drink & Be Generous. 

These events have been a great way to gather around food and learn about issues in our community. While featured beers, fresh Indian sauces and old school pizza tossing drew plenty of oohs and aahs, it was the results we’re seeing in the community that stole the show. Because of donor generosity:

• 15,000 households have received rental assistance to stay in their homes. Our outreach team has worked with our neighbors around the county to help them avoid rental debt. In some cases, nine months of back rent is paid to the landlord as well as three upcoming months to help people get on their feet.
• 5,000+ families are receiving weekly grocery deliveries. With partners like DoorDash, Safeway and dozens of food banks, we’re reimagining the emergency food system. Nutritious, culturally relevant food is making a difference with families across the county. 
• Emergency grants to help college students stay housed. More than half of local community college students are living in poverty. At a time when completing an education is so critical, hundreds of students have receive one-time grants to keep on track to college completion.

Thanks to event sponsors like Microsoft, this series has been a great way to gather virtually—and everything donated on event day goes directly to community. 

We’re about to add some in person events to the mix! Save the date for a fun event on March 3 at Taku with Chef Shota—and stay tuned for an event in the works on the eastside. 

Looking to gather employees in a fun way? Do what Bank of America did and sponsor the series. Not only will your investment do great things in the community, your team will have a chance to come together over a fun cooking demo with incredible meal kits for your team.

Have a chef you’d like to see us partner with—either virtually or in person? Let us know!