Through your support of these events, we were able to distribute almost $44,000 to the following recipients chosen by our executive committee and finance committee:

$12,000 went to Metro Community College Foundation specifically to the Jim & Patty Trebbien Fund, the ICA High School Culinary Invitational and Culinary Team Nebraska. The Jim and Patty Trebbien Funds helps teachers better their abilities through seminars and workshops. The ICA High School Culinary Invitational is a competition where over 100 kids will get to showcase their culinary talents. The last program under this foundation we gave to is the Culinary Team NE mentored by Brian O’Malley, Brian Young and Cathy Curtis. We chose to donate to programs where the culinary students supported are the ones with passion, commitment and drive. These are the students that will end up in our restaurants cooking for our community in the future.

$12,000 to Hospitality Education Foundation (HEF) is in place of last year’s Norman scholarship, Kawa scholarship, and UNLF. We really want to get back to the basics and see students who have interest and talent, but need the funds to pursue their dreams, get the funds easier. This move allows us to support high school students through the PROSTART program as well as provide culinary scholarships for students interested in pursuing education in the State of Nebraska These recipients must attend a school in Nebraska and our organization will be able to be a part of choosing those recipients. We believe we are not taking away from these schools it is just another avenue to get there.

$10,000 to Food Bank for the Heartland because the need, unfortunately, is ALWAYS there.

$4,000 to No More Empty Pots a food hub that provides access to local healthy foods, a commercial kitchen which provides job training, workforce readiness, food waste reduction, income generation and business development.

$2,000 to Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue who believes it just makes sense to feed the hungry with excess food that would otherwise be wasted. Using refrigerated trucks they pick up donated food from grocery stores, wholesalers, event venues, caterers, restaurants and schools and deliver them to 32 local shelters, food pantries, senior citizen shelters, after school programs and transitional living facilities.

$2,400 to VinNebraska

Lastly, we earmarked $4,000 to assist in ServSafe Management Training certification.