At Birmingham Restaurant Week (BRW), giving back to the community is at the heart of our mission. It’s at the forefront of everything we do. And it’s another reason why during BRW 2020, we chose to support local businesses during the time when they needed it the most.
Typically, our fundraising dollars come from our very popular, sold-out events such as our Preview Party, Harvest Brunch and Wineology events. And since public events were simply not an option this year, it was on our sponsors and our restaurants to create enough revenue for us to find a way to make a significant donation.
We gave our participants the opportunity to vote for the nonprofit they would like to see receive our donation for 2020. From a choice of five local, food-based nonprofits, the winner was the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. Because of our sponsors, participating restaurants, bars and food trucks, BRW was pleased to donate $2,500 to aid toward their mission to end hunger.
“Right now donations are very important from the community because we’ve almost doubled the amount of food that is going out into the 12-county Central Alabama region this year,” said Community Food Bank of Central Alabama CEO Brett Meredith. “We have gone from about 1.1 million pounds a month to roughly 2.2 million pounds a month right now, so that makes such a difference.”
Each year, the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama supplies millions of meals to more than 250 food pantries, shelters and children’s programs across 12 counties in Central Alabama. They also operate direct meal programs by providing produce and groceries to seniors and children at risk of hunger during school breaks, patients with chronic illness, first-time mothers and others in need. They go above and beyond by delivering food to schools, senior housing facilities, medical clinics and more. The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama works hard to keep people fed today and to end hunger tomorrow.
Over the course of 11 years, BRW has raised more than $75,000 for local nonprofits and our goal is to continue doing so for many years to come. We are happy to give back to an organization that keeps bellies full and hearts happy. We look forward to helping more restaurants, bars, food trucks, nonprofits and the Birmingham community during Birmingham Restaurant Week 2021 – Winter Edition happening Jan. 14-31.
To learn how you can get involved or to donate to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, click here. To learn more about Birmingham Restaurant Week, click here or visit @BhamRestWeek on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!