Courtesy of the Central Coast American Red Cross:
On Sunday, June 2, approximately 350 community members from across the Central Coast celebrated the local impact of the American Red Cross while enjoying the finest offerings from local farms, restaurants, wineries, and distilleries at the Red Cross’s fifth annual Farm to Table Dinner. Held at Carmel Valley Ranch, the event was presented by Audi of America and Third Millennium Partners.
The dinner raised approximately $270,000 for Red Cross disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, said Michele Averill, Chief Executive Officer for the American Red Cross of the Central Coast.
“The generosity of this event’s attendees, donors, and sponsors is what enables the Red Cross to provide so many services to the residents of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties,” Averill said. “We are very grateful for this critical support.”
At the dinner, the local Red Cross chapter recognized World Central Kitchen as its 2018 Disaster Response Partner. Based in Washington D.C., World Central Kitchen served approximately 350,000 meals last year to victims of the Camp, Carr, and Mendocino Complex Fires in Northern California, and the Woolsey Fire and Montecito mudslides in Southern California. The nonprofit organization also provided essential feeding support to the first responders and volunteers who were deployed to those disasters.
Monterey-based Capital Insurance Group was also celebrated for a second $35,000 gift the company made toward the recent purchase of a new chapter-based Emergency Response Vehicle.
The June 2 festivities got under way with live music by The Brian Fitzgerald Trio and a tasting reception featuring dozens of area wineries and distilleries. Then, Chef Tim Wood of Carmel Valley Ranch, Chef Fabrice Roux of ROUX and Chophouse, and Chef Soerke Peters of Etats-Unis and Mezzaluna prepared a unique, multi-course, family-style dinner featuring the best offerings from local farms with expertly selected wine pairings. Jennifer Roux, also of ROUX and Chophouse, served as Event Chair for this year’s dinner.
“Local farms, wineries, distilleries, restaurants, and other businesses are very generous, and this once-a-year fundraising dinner couldn’t even happen without the contributions of our three amazing chefs and the Carmel Valley Ranch,” Averill said.
The event culminated with an exciting live auction that benefitted the local programs and disaster services that the Red Cross provides in the Central Coast Chapter’s tri-county service area.
In addition to being presented by Audi of America and Third Millennium Partners, this year’s dinner was also generously supported by Carmel Valley Ranch and Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (Gold Sponsors); Capital Insurance Group (Silver Sponsor); and Montage Health, the Fenton & Keller law firm, and Taylor Farms California (Bronze Sponsors).
