Feeding San Diego Announces Chef Brad Wise will be Featured Chef at Next Pairings with a Purpose Fundraiser
The culinary event on Thursday, September 28 will raise funds for the non-profit’s school pantry program
Feeding San Diego is announcing its next Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party fundraiser will be held this fall and will be helmed by acclaimed Chef Brad Wise, chef and owner of TRUST Restaurant Group. Together with Chef Wise, the non-profit will create a culinary experience with purpose for supporters who want to help raise funds for the expansion of Feeding San Diego’s School Pantry program, which operates at Title 1 schools in San Diego County. Feeding San Diego currently operates 47 school pantries that serve over 9,000 households per month and has ten schools on a waiting list to join the program. This community-centric dinner party will feature a multi-course menu, auctions, and live entertainment for an intimate group of 120 Feeding San Diego supporters, taking place on Thursday, September 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Secret Garden at Rancho Santa Fe.
“According to Feeding America, there are nearly 80,000 children in San Diego County who are at risk of experiencing food insecurity. No child should wonder where their next meal is coming from,” said Dana Williams, Feeding San Diego’s director of marketing & communications. “Every person who attends our Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party will directly support children facing hunger in San Diego County by helping to provide access to nutritious meals for kids and families.”
The evening’s menu will be created by Chef Wise, who is behind TRUST Restaurant Group. The hospitality collective includes five distinct concepts (TRUST, Fort Oak, Rare Society, Cardellino, and The Wise Ox) that highlight the bold, smoky, wood-fired flavors that have become his signature style. Ten locations spanning from San Diego to Seattle keep Chef Wise plenty busy, but it’s important to him to give back in the city he calls home.
“No one should go hungry in San Diego, so I am honored to partner with an establishment like Feeding San Diego to help eradicate food insecurity in our city,” said Brad Wise, chef and owner of TRUST Restaurant Group. “As chefs, we’re here to feed people and provide hospitality, and in that respect this organization and myself have the same goal in mind. I look forward to this dinner and more opportunities to work alongside Feeding San Diego in the future.”
Feeding San Diego’s Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party is an ongoing series and serves as a primary fundraiser for the organization, a partner food bank of Feeding America. Every dinner is completely different, from the chef to the venue, but the one thing they have in common is that all proceeds from the events support Feeding San Diego’s hunger-relief programs in San Diego County. Since the pandemic, Feeding San Diego has experienced an increase in need for its services and went from distributing 26 million meals in 2019 to 31.2 in 2020. The number of meals peaked in 2021 at 40.3 million, but Feeding San Diego is still distributing millions more meals than it was pre-pandemic, 35 million in 2022. At the same time, donations have declined since the pandemic, making it challenging for the non-profit to meet the needs of the community, particularly with inflation affecting its purchasing power.
Tickets to Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party with Chef Brad Wise can be purchased for $375 now until they sell out. The event will return again in 2024.
