High above downtown Dallas at the W highrise on Thursday, June 13, 2019 Harvest Co-Chairs Lisa and Marvin Singleton had big announcements to kick off the annual North Texas Food Bank fundraiser. Not only had they landed the “dean of Dallas dining” as the honorary chair, they had found a very “tasteful” place for the graze-athon. Here’s a report from the field:
Renowned chef Dean Fearing was announced as honorary chair of the 6th annual Harvest benefiting the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) at a kick-off celebration on Thursday, June 13.
Co-chairs Lisa and Marvin Singleton were joined by more than 50 host committee members and supporters at a cocktail reception hosted at a stunning W highrise residence.
Upon arrival, guests mingled and enjoyed wine and light bites as they enjoyed the amazing views. At the appointed time, the co-chairs gathered the crowd to welcome everyone and thank them for their support of the 6th annual Harvest, which will be held on Friday, September 20, from 7 – 10 p.m. at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s A Tasteful Place gardens and pavilion.
Marvin shared that this year’s event will once again feature delicious food donated and prepared by some of Dallas’ top chefs and restaurants, before announcing revered chef Dean Fearing as Harvest’s 2019 honorary chair, much to the crowd’s delight. He also announced that he and wife Lisa have set a goal of fundraising goal of $300,000, which translates to 900,000 meals for the individuals served by the North Texas Food Bank.
North Texas Food Bank President/CEO Trisha Cunningham followed to add her gratitude to all, including the co-chairs for their dedication to help end food insecurity in our community.
She then shared that there is hunger in every zip code and every county, with one in six people in our area going hungry on a regular basis, and even more unacceptable, 1 in 4 children who are hungry.
She said, “Dallas sits in sixth place of all the counties in the entire U.S. with the highest child food insecurity, and Texas is the fourth state with the highest child food insecurity. We can do better. With everyone’s help we can do something about this – and that is why the funds raised by Harvest are so important. Every dollar raised provides 3 meals.”
In closing, she encouraged everyone to purchase their tickets or sponsorships, which are available now and reminded them that sponsors at the Silver level and up will enjoy early entry to begin sampling the more than 20 chef stations, in addition to access to a VIP area featuring specialty cocktails, exclusive chef stations and more.
Attendees of the 6th annual Harvest Kick-Off included Lynn McBee, Tucker and Rich Enthoven, Candace Winslow, Nancy Gopez, Melinda and Mark Knowles, Nikki and Crayton Webb, Mimi Sterling, Kit Sawers, Maggie Kipp and Jack Pratt III, Katherine Coker and Dan Waldmann and Giles Davidson.
Harvest benefiting The North Texas Food Bank will be held on Friday, September 20, 2019, 7 – 10 p.m., at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Sponsorships begin at $500 and individuals tickets are $200 each and are available now, https://www.ntfb.org/harvest. Or for more information, contact Danielle Pestel at 214.347.9615 or [email protected].
* Photo provided by North Texas Food Bank