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Great Plates of Downtown 2016

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NEWS RELEASE

The Downtown Fort Collins Business Association and member businesses present a vibrant dining tradition for our community this March. Dining enthusiasts will be encouraged to celebrate the authenticity, quality and diversity found only in Downtown Fort Collins, at Great Plates of Downtown 2016.  During Great Plates, thirty-seven (37) downtown restaurants will offer dinner specials at a price of $25.00 or $2.50 breakfast deals.  Attendees will be able to enjoy downtown’s during this culinary celebration while supporting the Food Bank for Larimer County.

The Downtown Fort Collins Business Association is partnering with the Food Bank for Larimer County this year to help feed people in our county.  Patrons can make contributions to support the Food Bank for Larimer County.  Every donation helps- a $1 donation is equivalent to $5 worth of food. Donations, tax and tip are not included in the Great Plates price.  For more information on the Food Bank for Larimer County or to donate online visit www.foodbanklarimer.org

Dates:              March 1 – 14, 2016

Price:              $25.00 Dinner Specials, not including tax, tip, or donation

                        $2.50 Breakfast & Dessert Specials, not including tax, tip, or donation

 

Hours: 5:00 pm to close at participating dinner restaurants

                        5:00 pm to close at participating dessert restaurants

                        Open to 10am at participating breakfast restaurants

 

Menu:  Visit DowntownFortCollins.com for Great Plates dinner, breakfast and dessert menus

 

Sponsors:

Annual Downtown Sponsors: First National Bank, Eye Center of Northern Colorado, Poudre Valley Hospital University of Colorado Health, The Group, Inc., Schrader Oil, Meritage Homes and Colorado State University.

Official Sponsors: Food Services of America, Odell Brewery, 90 Shilling, High Country Beverage and Coors Light.

Media Partners: The Fort Collins Coloradoan and Town Square Media

Contributing Sponsors: Citizen Printing and ValPak of N. Colorado

Media Contact:          

Erica Vander Sande (Marketing Manager), Downtown Fort Collins Business Association, (970) 484-6500

Exclusive chef collaboration & competition

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FOOD BANK FOR LARIMER COUNTY TO BENEFIT FROM EXCLUSIVE CHEF COLLABORATION & COMPETITION

 Fort Collins, CO – February 22, 2016 – New this year, the Food Bank for Larimer County is partnering with the community event specialists at Fortified Collaborations to offer a fresh “TASTE” of culinary creativity to benefit hunger-relief programs in Larimer County. This year’s event will be held on April 14, 2016 at the Hilton Fort Collins from 6-9 pm. This first of its kind collaboration & competition will feature five teams of the area’s finest chefs. Each team will collaborate to create a themed tasting menu featuring one or more common produce staples (onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and apples) regularly available to the Food Bank’s clients. Guests will see firsthand how chefs transform the ordinary into the extraordinary and have a chance to sample items not found on menus anywhere in Northern Colorado. Teams will be expertly paired with local craft beers and flavorful wines for a first-class experience.

“We are so excited for the opportunity to collaborate with local chefs and restaurants in a new way, bringing a fresh approach to THE TASTE for its 23rd year,” said Kristina Cash, Founder, Fortified Collaborations. “We’ve received only rave responses from the participating chefs and can’t wait to see what they will present on April 14!”

Only 300 individual tickets will be sold to this one-of-a-kind event. Tickets are $120 and each ticket sold will provide $600 worth of food to ensure everyone in our community has the nourishment they need to thrive and succeed. TASTE tickets can be purchased online at www.tastebenefit.org. Included with each ticket, guests will have the opportunity to sample creative, 5-star cuisine not on any menu; enjoy champagne & fine cheeses at Bubble Stations; interact with local chefs to learn the story of their cuisine; vote for Toast of THE TASTE; cap off the evening at the coffee, tea & dessert bar; relax with live jazz music; bid on fabulous packages in a bountiful silent auction; and receive all of the evening’s extraordinary recipes.

“After decades of successfully raising funds for hunger-relief programming through THE TASTE, we’re looking forward to bringing a fresh, new culinary concept to the community,” said Heather Buoniconti, Chief Development Officer, Food Bank for Larimer County. “We think guests will love the new event as it is truly about collaboration and community; or more precisely, everyone sharing their talents and treasures to work towards ending hunger in Larimer County.”

 

Chefs & Restaurants for 2016 TASTE

David Bowyer – 4th Street Chophouse; Troy Heller – Ace Gillett’s; Jeff Blackwell & Brent Rortbert – Austin’s American Grill; Rudy Burns – Babette’s Feast Bakery & Catering; Mckinzy Calapp – Café Vino; Dave Neas – CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing; Matt Smith – Door 222; Jeff Blackwell & Issac Moreno – Enzio’s Italian Kitchen; Alex Runge – FCB Modern Tavern; Oskar Arevalo –  Fish; Justin Kruger – Food Bank for Larimer County’s Community Kitchen; Vince Clark – Food for Thought Catering; Rhys Edmunds – Jay’s Bistro; Jeff Blackwell – Moot House; Brian Shaner – Nick’s Homestyle; Karin Vandermeere – Origins Wine Bar & Pizza; Amelia Mouton – Restaurant 415; Alex Feldman – Rare Italian; Aaron Conkley – Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant; Benjamin Rosing – Spring Creek Grille @ the Hilton, Dave Daggett – TasteBuds and Rise!; Nate Hines – Welsh Rabbit Bistro.

 

2016 TASTE Sponsors

With the generous support of event sponsors, including presenting sponsor University of Colorado Health, 100% of ticket sales will support hunger-relief programming in Larimer County. Additional sponsors include: Bohemian Foundation, Claypot Creative, Flood and Peterson, Food Services of America, Fortified Collaborations, Kluver-Moore Foundation, Motherlove, Citizen Printing, Dellenbach Motors, Elks Lodge #804, FirstBank, Gary & Dee Ludwin, Neenan Archistruction, Pedersen Toyota and Dr. Robert M. Williams and Ms. Jill J. Williams. Media sponsors include: The Coloradoan, Feasting Fort Collins, KUNC and Style.

For more information, visit www.tastebenefit.org.

 

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About Food Bank for Larimer County:

Founded in 1984, the Food Bank for Larimer County is the county’s only Feeding America clearinghouse for donated food. In 2015, the Food Bank provided 8.9 million pounds of food to low-income residents through three programs: Food Share, Kids Cafe and Food Link. Food Share is a client-choice, fresh food pantry with locations in Fort Collins and Loveland that provides donated and government food to income qualifying individuals up to two times per week. Nearly 29,000 Larimer County residents received assistance through Food Share last year. Kids Cafe provides free, nutritious meals to low income children after school and during the summer. The Food Bank prepared and delivered over 81,000 meals to at-risk children last year. Food Link provided food to 87 non-profit organizations for use in their programs for low income individuals. These organizations include food pantries, soup kitchens, after school programs and domestic violence shelters among others. For more information please visit www.foodbanklarimer.org or www.facebook.com/foodbankforlarimercounty.

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Tough Choices

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Making tough choices and trade-offs to keep food on the table

According to Hunger In America 2014 more than 46 million people each year including nearly 12 million children and 7 million seniors are receiving food assistance. Locally, the Food Bank for Larimer County and our partners participated in a study with 150 face-to-face interviews collected at 49 Food Link agencies, including the Food Bank’s Food Share programs, in Spring 2013.

Note: This report does not account for clients receiving food from other food providers such as day care centers and senior centers, residential programs for disabled and other food bank programs such as Kids Cafe and Kids Link.

Following are the choices client households reported making in the past 12 months:

  • 76% report choosing between paying for food and pay for utilities
    • 40% of these households are making the choice every month.
  • 67% report making choices between paying for food and paying for transportation.
    • 39% of these households are making the choice every month.
  • 79% report choosing between paying for food and paying for medicine/medical care.
    • 38% of these households are making the choice every month.
  • 54% report choosing between paying for food and paying for housing.
    • 33% of these households are making the choice every month.
  • 39% report choosing between paying for food and paying for school loans, tuition or other educational expenses.
    • 31% are making the choice every month.

You can be sure your gift to Food Bank for Larimer County will be used efficiently and effectively to feed those in need. $.96 of $1 is used for hunger-relief programming. And with just $1, Food Bank for Larimer County can provide $5 worth of food to an individual or family in need. We greatly respect and value our donors; please visit our Privacy Policy which ensures our commitment to you. For the 12th straight year, the Food Bank for Larimer County has been ranked as a 4-Star Charity by Charity Navigator.

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Pam Gardner 2015

$20,000 and 2,400 pounds of food

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CITY AND COUNTY ANNUAL COMPETITION RAISES OVER $20,000 AND 2,400 POUNDS OF FOOD FOR THE FOOD BANK FOR LARIMER COUNTY

FORT COLLINS, CO – February 9, 2016 – For the 29th year, City of Fort Collins and Larimer County employees competed to raise the most food and funds for the Food Bank for Larimer County. For two weeks during the month of December, local government employees dedicated time, talent and treasure to raise $20,271 and 2,474 pounds of food for neighbors needing food assistance in Larimer County. The County retained its title for the 6th straight year by collecting $12,396 and 1,630 pounds of food. Over the course of 29 years, these groups have collected well over $435,000 and nearly 170,000 pounds of food to make a huge impact on hunger in our community.

“The Annual City & County Food & Fund Competition is one of our long-standing partnerships in the community,” said Amy Pezzani, CEO, Food Bank for Larimer County. “We are grateful to local government employees for their commitment each and every year to fighting hunger in our community.”

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About Food Bank for Larimer County:

Founded in 1984, the Food Bank for Larimer County is the county’s only Feeding America clearinghouse for donated food. In 2015, the Food Bank provided 8.9 million pounds of food to low-income residents through three programs: Food Share, Kids Cafe and Food Link. Food Share is a client-choice, fresh food pantry with locations in Fort Collins and Loveland that provides donated and government food to income qualifying individuals up to two times per week. Nearly 29,000 Larimer County residents received assistance through Food Share last year. Kids Cafe provides free, nutritious meals to low income children after school and during the summer. The Food Bank prepared and delivered over 81,000 meals to at-risk children last year. Food Link provided food to 87 non-profit organizations for use in their programs for low income individuals. These organizations include food pantries, soup kitchens, after school programs and domestic violence shelters among others. For more information please visit www.foodbanklarimer.org or www.facebook.com/foodbankforlarimercounty.