Sam Galloway Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit set for March 6
Everyone is welcome at the 22nd annual Sam Galloway Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit for Community Cooperative.
“I always say there is room for one more. We have a big table,” Community Cooperative CEO Stefanie Ink Edwards said. “I feel like it continues to get better and grow and bring new people to the table. We haven’t really changed anything. That’s the beauty of this event — simplicity. The gathering of likeminded, community-minded people who come together and want to raise money to fight hunger in Southwest Florida.”
The benefit will take place Thursday, March 6, at the Sam Galloway Ford at 1800 Boy Scout Drive in Fort Myers.
The venue is unique: The event is held in the service garage at Sam’s Galloway Ford and attendees could be sitting at a table next to a car lift with a car on it.
“The Sam Galloway team does a great job of cleaning up. We do all of that in one day,” she said, adding that it is turned into a party spot one evening and then wrenches are being turned by 7 the next morning. “It’s the most unique event in Southwest Florida.”
Tickets are $200 a person for an individual seat at a table with a buffet-style served dinner. Tickets, as well as sponsorship opportunities, can be found at CommunityCooperative.com.
The event will feature 20 local businesses and individuals who have donated food, beverages and support to help execute the event.
“I have a handful of vendors that have been with us all 22 years. We have a couple of new ones that have come onboard this year,” she said. “Everybody is local. We like the mom-and-pop local businesses and we always encourage people to patronize those local businesses because they are the ones that support us.” This year’s menu will showcase southern cuisine.
Donors
Appetizers — Chris and Kaitlin Whitaker of Garden Goddess & LYNQ and Brian and Chef Gloria Jordan of Jordan’s.
Garden salad — Will Prather and Maureen Green-Prather of Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.
The main course includes a plethora of dishes from smoked pork to southern fried shrimp and cheese grits.
BBQ chicken and green beans — Vickie and Andre Jones of Jonesez BBQ; smoked pork and swamp cabbage — Wesley Hansen Jr., and Deanna Hansen; meatloaf and mashed potatoes — Sam’s Community Cafe & Kitchen; smoked brisket and baked beans — Mike Gavala, Wally Thomas and Brian Gear of Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery; southern fried shrimp and cheese grits — Tim and Healy Yoa of Artisan Eatery; collard greens, okra and tomatoes — Chip and Betsy Barnwell of The Farmer’s Market Restaurant and mac and cheese — Chef Calcedonio and Genevieve Bruno of Bruno’s of Brooklyn.
The desserts are donated by Norman Love Confections; Sandy Stilwell Youngquist of Keylime Bistro and Uncle Charlie’s Cookies Ministry.
The beverages are donated by Mast Family Culligan; the Mitchell Family of Suncoast Beverage; The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon and Seed & Been Market.
Those who attend are asked to prepare for a large crowd as last year there were more than 750 attendees, which does not include the 150 volunteers, or vendors.
The staffing is provided by Mike and Karen Gavala of G3 Catering.
Why the event is held
The need to fight hunger continues to grow in the community, as the population of Southwest Florida continues to grow, especially with the macro impacts of inflation, food costs, and housing issues, and not to mention natural disaster impacts and coming out of an election year.
“The cost of doing business for us is continuing to grow just like every other business in Southwest Florida,” Ink Edwards said, adding that it is harder as a nonprofit because they are not selling a service that she can increase in price. “We rely on philanthropy.”
Giving is down, but the need is up – math that does not always work, she added.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the benefit will go right back into their feeding programs as they do not rely on government dollars to run their programs.
Those programs include the Sam’s Community Café, Meals on Wheels, Mobile Food Pantry, social services and education programs.
“On any given day, through all of our programs, we are cranking out close to 1,200 to 1,500 meals a day and that is just prepared food. It doesn’t count food given away at our mobile food pantries,” Ink Edwards said.
Community Cooperative is also seeking volunteers to help — from delivering Meals on Wheels to helping with a baby program. She said they have something for everyone.
For more information, visit communitycooperative.com.