Lowcountry Food Bank raises $550,000 to fight childhood hunger at its 24th annual Chefs’ Feast gala

Lowcountry Food Bank’s (LCFB) 24th annual Chefs’ Feast gala was held on Sunday, February 26th, 2023, at Trident Technical College in North Charleston.

480 community partners and guests attended to support the fight against childhood hunger.

For 24 years, donations at Chefs’ Feast have funded LCFB’s childhood hunger programs: Kids Café, Backpack Buddies, School Market, School Pantry and Summer Meals – which alleviate after-school, weekend and summer hunger for children.

Presented by Atlas Technologies and hosted by ABC 4 Chief Meteorologist Dave Williams, Chefs’ Feast is a collaboration between the Lowcountry Food Bank and more than 30 of the community’s most celebrated chefs, who serve delectable bites for guests who also enjoy a hosted bar, a live auction and meet the Lowcountry’s own celebrity chefs as they serve up signature dishes.

For the sixth consecutive year, Chef Jacques Larson, Executive Chef of the Obstinate Daughter and Wild Olive, served as Chefs’ Feast Lead Chef. Lowcountry Food Bank Executive Chef Emily Cookson served as the event’s VIP chef. Chef Robert Carter founded Chefs’ Feast in 1999, and the event has become one of Charleston’s largest charitable events.

The slate of participating 2023 Chefs’ Feast restaurants included Acme Lowcountry Kitchen, Aramark, Belmond – Charleston Place, Charleston Chocolatiers, Chez Nous, Chubby Fish, Circa 1886, Cru Café and Catering, Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College, Edmund’s Oast, 82 Queen, The Grocery, Hank’s Seafood, Indigo Road, Jalisco, KISS Café, Kwei Fei, Lowcountry Food Bank, Magnolia’s, Obstinate Daughter, Relish Restaurant Group, The River Course – Kiawah Island Club, Salthouse Catering, The Sanctuary @ Kiawah Island Resort, SNOB, St Honore Pastry, Swig & Swine, and Vern’s. This year’s event also featured beverages from High Wire Distillery, The Brew Lab Charleston, and Blue Chair Bay Rum.

“We appreciate the generosity of our community this year as we kicked off our 40th year of operations at Chefs’ Feast,” said Nick Osborne, Lowcountry Food Bank President and CEO. “Hunger is a solemn issue, but this great event brought the community together for a night of fun as we continue to create sustainable solutions that meet the needs of our neighbors who face hunger.”

Unfortunately, one in five children in the Lowcountry experiences food insecurity. Through support from Chefs’ Feast and community partners, the Lowcountry Food Bank distributed last year more than 115,000 Kids Cafe meals to after-school sites, more than 79,000 pounds of fresh produce to children and their families at after-school Kids Cafe and Pop-Up produce sites, and more than 105,000 BackPack Buddies packs during the school year.

Our School Pantry Program distributed more than 5,200, 25-pound boxes of shelf-stable food boxes to students and their families during the school year. More than 100,000 pounds of food and essential products were distributed through our School Market program. More than 20,000 meals were distributed to children at Summer Food Service Program sites when kids had no access to school meals during the summer.
To learn more about how you can join the fight against hunger, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website.

About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.

The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 39 million pounds of food in 2022. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to 240+ partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website.