After the first Foodie Philanthropy event raised about $10,000 for Girls Inc. of Tarrant County last year, event organizers are looking to do it all again with more restaurants, more food and a new charity to support.
"Fort Worth is a really giving city in a lot of ways," Foodie Philanthropy founder Michael Crain said. "These are restaurants that are giving. We want to highlight those restaurants that are our partners, encouraging people throughout the year [to] go to those restaurants and participate and show them the support because they're supporting the community."
Foodie Philanthropy is a one-night event in which restaurants and diners come together to raise money for a specific charity. This year's Foodie Philanthropy is set for Feb. 25, benefiting The Women's Center of Tarrant County.
The way it works is participating restaurants donate a table for 10, choose a menu and commit to serving at least three courses and two glasses of wine. Each table has a host, and guests can purchase seats and enjoy the food on Foodie Philanthropy night before closing the evening with an after-party.
This year's participating restaurants include a few returners from last year like Clay Pigeon, Brewed and Joe T. Garcia's, as well as some newcomers like Del Frisco's and Righteous Foods.
This year's beneficiary? The Women's Center, a Fort Worth-based organization that provides rape victim services, domestic violence education, counseling and other services for women and families. The funds raised at Foodie Philanthropy will go specifically toward The Women's Center's Play it Safe! program, which educates children from pre-kindergarten through high school about sexual and physical abuse, how to recognize it, and how to respond to it.
Though Fort Worth's first Foodie Philanthropy took place last year, the event had long been experiencing success in China, where Crain spent several years working at the U.S. Embassy. Crain said the event, known as Chi Fan for Charity, raised more than $950,000 for Chinese charities since it started in 2009.
He says he hopes the event will achieve the same success in Fort Worth, and after the first year, Foodie Philanthropy is well on its way. Last year 15 restaurants participated.
This year the goal is to have at least 30 restaurants take part, Crain said.
"You're going to do what you do on a Saturday night anyway, which means go to dinner with old friends, new friends, all for a good cause," he said.
To participate in Foodie Philanthropy, contact Michael Crain at [email protected] or call 817-677-8258. More information can be found on Foodie Philanthropy's website, foodiephilanthropy.org.
Check out some of the participating restaurants:
Bee's Dive
Bird Café
Bonnell's
Brewed
Cannon ChineseKitchen
The Capital Grille
Cast Iron
Central Market
Clay Pigeon
Del Frisco's
Ellerbe Fine Foods
Fixture Kitchen +
Social Lounge
Grace
Joe T. Garcia's
Kona Grill
La Perla
Lonesome Dove
Los Vaqueros
Magdalena's
MAX's Wine Dive
Piola ItalianRestaurant
Swiss Pastry Shop
Terra MediterraneanGrill
TEXAS BLEU
Reata
Righteous Foods
