(Clifford Pugh, Culture Map Houston)
It felt as hot as a summer day on the steps of City Hall Wednesday, but that seemed somehow appropriate as officials announced that Houston Restaurant Weeks, held during the month of August, raked in a record $1.222 million for the Houston Food Bank.
“I had someone check the numbers because I was so pleasantly shocked,” Houston Restaurant Weeks founder Cleverley Stone said.
The amount donated was a 52.8 percent increase over 2011, Stone noted, when around $800,000 was raised. “In today’s economic climate that is incredible, and I say, thank you, Houston, Texas.”
This year, nearly 170 restaurants offered a special $20 lunch and a $35 dinner, with $3 of each lunch and $5 of each dinner donated to the Houston Food Bank. Nearly 48,000 lunches and more than 205,000 dinners were sold, with an estimated $13.47 million spent on food, beverages, sales tax and tips.
Stone said the economic impact was likely higher because she conservatively estimated that diners spent $10 on beverages. Mayor Annise Parker agreed, noting that she dined out during Restaurant Weeks “and I know that for our table, it was a lot more than that amount.”
Stone said the event began in 2003 at the suggestion of a friend. It ran for a week and netted $5,000 from 16 restaurants. It has now grown so popular that it’s become one of the best times of the year for Houston restaurants, said Del Frisco general manager Arthur Mooradian. “We used to take vacations in August and now we can’t because it’s become the busiest month of the year for us…August has become a great celebration month.”
[…] Houston Food Bank CEO Brian Greene said that every dollar of the donation provides three meals to a needy family. “Every meal that was had at a restaurant, for us is 15 meals going out to some family in need or an individual,” he said. “We are grateful to everyone who participated.”
(Read the full story at the Culture Map Houston)
MORE COVERAGE:
- Food Bank Scores Big Thanks to Hungry Houstonians (KRIV 26 News)
- Houston Restaurant Weeks Makes $1.2 Million For Food Bank (KUHF Public Radio)
- Eat Well and Do Good: Houston Restaurants Offer Great Specials That Help Out All Sorts of Charities (Culture Map Houston)
LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:
- Seven-Figure Campaign Promoting Ballot Measures for Public Projects
(Houston Chronicle) - Galveston Hosts Conference For Disaster Response Across Southeast Texas (KUHF Public Radio)
- FEMA Pitching in for Disaster-Proof Domes (KRIV 26 News)
- Low-Key $10,000 Gift Suits Charity Just Fine (Houston Chronicle)
- Antibiotic Awareness Group Stages Run/Walk (Houston Chronicle)
- Klein ISD Budget Targets Growth (Houston Chronicle)
- Suspect Accused of Beating Wheelchair-Bound Woman (KPRC 2 News)
- Mom Horrified When School Misplaces Child (KRIV 26 News)
STATE, NATION & WORLD:
- Top Scientific Reviewers Defect from Cancer Agency
(Houston Chronicle) - Texas National Guard Starting to Track Suicide Attempts (Austin Statesman)
- Rio Grande Valley Tops List of “America’s Poorest Cities” (TM Daily Post)
- House Energy chief Upton: Repeal Both Oil, Green Power Tax Breaks (The Hill)
- Weighing the True Cost of Childcare (Marketplace Radio)
- Gulf Oil Sheen Matches Macondo Well and Could be from Wreckage (FuelFix)
- Meningitis Outbreak Toll: 137 Cases, 12 Deaths (Houston Chronicle)
- Male Rape Targeted in New Guidelines – UNHCR (AlertNet/Reuters)