Tickets are on Sale for South Florida’s Premier Culinary Event for a Cause –Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® South Florida

The area’s hottest chefs, restaurateurs and mixologists unite for June 17 fundraising event to help end childhood hunger

April 4, 2014 (Miami, FL) – Calling all foodies and philanthropists: Tickets are now on sale for Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® South Florida, the region’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to ending childhood hunger. This year’s event will be held on June 17, 2014 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. in the spacious main ballroom of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. VIP tickets will get attendees access to the event an hour before the doors open and entry to a special After Party at Lure Fishbar, which opened at Loews Miami Beach in late-2013. The highly anticipated annual tasting event, which supports Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® campaign to end childhood hunger in America, will feature South Florida’s top chefs, sommeliers and mixologists united for a cause: making sure all children in this nation have the healthy food they need, every day.

Guests will have the opportunity to brush shoulders with more than 50 of the area’s most influential movers n’ shakers in the food and drink scene and taste their signature fare and spirits, while also bidding on a wide array of culinary, lifestyle and travel auction items. Culinary tastemakers leading the 2014 event include Founding Event Chair Allen Susser (Chef Allen Consulting) and Restaurant Chair Timon Balloo (SUGARCANE raw bar grill).

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Location: Loews Miami Beach Hotel
1601 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Time: 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.; 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. for VIP; 10:00 pm to midnight for After Party
Admission: $125 for General Admission; $250 for VIP

“The inaugural Taste of the Nation South Florida in 2013, which combined what used to be known as Taste of the Nation Miami and Taste of the Nation Fort Lauderdale, proved to be a much stronger event, attracting a larger group of restaurants, attendees and sponsors,” notes the event’s Restaurant Chair, Chef Timon Balloo.

“Last year, Taste of the Nation South Florida attracted more than 50 restaurant participants and raised more than $130,000, which helped connect children in need with up to 13 million meals,” added long-time Taste of the Nation event chairman, Chef Allen Susser. “We’re confident the event will continue to grow, helping us raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger,” says Chef Susser.

One in five children in this country struggles with hunger, including more than 1.1 million kids in Florida. The good news is that this is a solvable problem. The No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in this nation by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day by connecting them to nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals and by teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals at home.

Since summer 2011, No Kid Hungry efforts to expand access to summer meals and school breakfast have helped connect kids to more than 34 million additional meals. The No Kid Hungry campaign is replicating that success around the country by working collaboratively with its partners to feed millions of American children.

Recently, the No Kid Hungry campaign challenged America’s leaders to connect 1 million more low-income children in this nation to school breakfast over the next two years. While currently, just over half of our nation’s kids who need a free or reduced-price breakfast are getting one, The No Kid Hungry campaign is working with elected officials, corporate leaders, school officials, and others in the non-profit community on innovative strategies like moving breakfast out of the cafeteria and into the classroom so more kids get the food they need for academic success. The new website, NoKidHungry.org/Breakfast, has tested strategies, advocacy tools and research that can help communities more rapidly connect more low-income children to this critical morning meal.

One hundred percent of ticket proceeds from Taste of the Nation South Florida benefit the No Kid Hungry campaign, thanks to generous support from National Presenting Sponsor Sysco, national sponsors American Express, Food Network, Cavit, OpenTable, and S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water and Acqua Panna Natural Spring Water, and local sponsors Lincoln Motor Company, Nespresso, Share Your Wine, Whole Foods, Wine Watch, Easy Ice, Nestle Waters, Brustman Carrino Public Relations, Panache: a Classic Party Rentals company, Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Mike Sipe Entertainment, Miami New Times and Social Thinkking. Local beneficiaries include Florida Impact, Feeding South Florida, FLIPANY, South Florida Hunger Coalition and Florence Fuller Child Development Centers.

To purchase tickets for Taste of the Nation South Florida, visit CE.NoKidHungry.org/SouthFlorida.

About Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® Campaign

No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day. The No Kid Hungry campaign connects kids in need to effective nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals and teaches low-income families to cook healthy, affordable meals through Cooking Matters. This work is accomplished through the No Kid Hungry network, made up of private citizens, public officials, nonprofits, business leaders and others providing innovative hunger solutions in their communities. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.