Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party Successfully Raises Over $410,000 for Feeding San Diego’s School Pantry Program

Proceeds from the bi-annual event will help provide nearly 820,000 meals to kids and families in need

In an extraordinary show of support for local hunger relief programs, Feeding San Diego’s bi-annual Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party fundraiser raised over $410,000 for the nonprofit’s School Pantry Program, helping sustain its critical hunger-relief efforts that provide nutritious food to children and families at K-12 schools across San Diego County. The exclusive event, now in its fourth year, was hosted at Herb & Sea in Encinitas on Thursday, October 15. The sold-out fundraiser highlighted the living bounty of San Diego’s coastline with courses featuring sustainably sourced seafood and seasonal produce complemented by wine pairings. The menu was curated by Chef Aidan Owens, the culinary director for Herb & Sea and Herb & Wood, and the evening was hosted by local restaurateur and TV personality Brian Malarkey and Troy Johnson, local food personality and publisher of San Diego Magazine. In addition to ticket sales, additional funds for the program were raised throughout the evening with a live auction, raffle, wine pull, and paddle raise.

“One in six children in San Diego County is food insecure, and as the public social safety net continues to contract, children remain among the most vulnerable,” said Ali Colbran, Chief Development Officer at Feeding San Diego. “Feeding San Diego’s school pantry program currently brings nutritious food to 73 school campuses, providing nutrition to children and peace of mind to their caregivers. Nearly 70 additional schools are on our waitlist, hoping to offer the vital resource to their students. With the generosity of community members at our Pairings events, we can sustain and expand this program and get more food into the hands of children and families who need it

Feeding San Diego’s School Pantry Program brings nutritious food directly to where families with children already gather – their local schools. By providing free, fresh produce and pantry staples, the program helps close the financial gap for families and ensures kids have the healthy food they need to thrive for nights and weekends at home. Typically held twice a month at Title 1 schools throughout the county and managed by school staff and parent volunteers, these pantries transform school spaces into welcoming food distribution hubs. Parents can easily pick up a variety of nutritious ingredients during pick up or drop off, empowering them to create wholesome meals at home that support their children’s growth and development. The program currently reaches as far north as Oceanside and as far south as Otay Mesa. It also serves rural communities like Boulevard in the Mountain Empire and Pauma Valley near Palomar Mountain.

This fall’s Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party marks the first time a Pairings with a Purpose dinner was hosted at a restaurant that is part of the Puffer Malarkey Collective (PMC). A generous supporter of Feeding San Diego since 2019, Chef Brian Malarkey is one of America’s most dynamic and accomplished chefs and restaurateurs, known for his bold culinary vision and flair for concept-driven dining experiences. Malarkey leads two distinct restaurant groups: The Puffer Malarkey Collective and The Brothers Malarkey. PMC currently operates four acclaimed and stylistically diverse restaurants in San Diego: Herb & Wood in Little Italy, Herb & Sea in Encinitas, Animae in downtown, and Le Coq in La Jolla.

“Feeding people isn’t a side project for me; it’s just part of who I am, as a dad and as someone who’s spent his life in restaurants,” said Malarkey. “This year we finally got to put that into action ourselves, and I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out. Chef Owens cooked some of the best food he’s ever put on a plate, and you could tell the room felt it. We raised real support for Feeding San Diego, and that’s what sticks with me. This won’t be the last time we do it.”

Feeding San Diego’s Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party is an ongoing series that typically takes place twice annually – in the early spring at Callie and at a rotating location in the fall – and serves as a primary fundraiser for the organization, a partner food bank of Feeding America.

The fall Pairings with a Purpose Dinner Party was sponsored in part by California Home Builders, a boutique home builder specializing in custom new construction and fully renovated coastal retreats, and Cal-Mil, an Oceanside-based company that designs and manufactures products for foodservice, hospitality, catering, buffet, and retail display industries.

Community members interested in attending a future Pairings with a Purpose dinner are encouraged to sign up for the interest list here. To learn more on how to support Feeding San Diego and its hunger relief mission, visit feedingsandiego.org.