Cars and cuisine take center stage with Forgotten Harvest's tenth annual Champagne Cruise along metro Detroit's famed Woodward Avenue from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, August 17.
Love classic cars? Love sampling great food? Looking for a really effective way to help address hunger and waste while having a great time in the process?
Then this is the party for you!
Forgotten Harvest smartly stages one of their largest fundraisers of the year for the eve of the Woodward Dream Cruise, billed as the largest one-day celebration of classic cars and the car culture that dominates the Detroit area. Using Berkley's Westborn Market as a venue, the Forgotten Harvest bash puts attendees in the heart of the Dream Cruise action and on the frontlines with those who battle hunger by supporting Forgotten Harvest's year-round food rescue mission.
It may seem strange to fight hunger by sipping champagne and sampling food from some of Detroit's most notable restaurants and caterers while watching classic cars cruise Woodward, but it's a formula Forgotten Harvest has honed to perfection over the past decade.
Forgotten Harvest rescued 23.2 million pounds of food during its 2010-2011 fiscal year, delivering it directly to 185 emergency food providers like food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and faith-based organizations of all denominations, according to Forgotten Harvest's easy-to-find annual report online. This represented a 20-percent increase in rescued food over the previous fiscal year.
One of the really great things about Forgotten Harvest's food rescue operation is that the organization rescues a lot of fresh food that would otherwise languish in a landfill. About half of the organization's rescued harvest consists of fresh meats, fruits and vegetables that struggling families can sometimes ill afford to put on their dinner tables, rather than cheap and heavily processed canned, boxed and other non-perishable items.
The organization recently earned kudos from metro Detroit's Corp! Magazine as one of Michigan's "green" leaders for environmentally sound practices that help reduce waste while effectively addressing the problem of hunger in the metro area.
Forgotten Harvest's sterling record of responsible stewardship of its donated resources also continually impresses me. Forgotten Harvest rescues more food on a per capita basis than any other food rescue organization in the United States and distributes it at the lowest cost-per-meal basis (23 cents per pound). Forgotten Harvest consistently earns high ratings from Charity Navigator for its efficiency and transparency.
But, hey, enough with the serious stuff!
Why not check it out for yourself?
Volunteers greet Champagne Cruisers with a glass of chilled bubbly and a variety of vendors put out an amazing spread of appetizers, small-plate entrees and desserts. You definitely won't go hungry, and there's ample opportunity to work off a few of those calories by dancing to live music and participating in the event's live auction of one-of-a-kind items and experiences (we scored one of our favorite Michigan lighthouse pictures at one year's auction).
At the end of the night, a handful of Forgotten Harvest's fleet of trucks arrive to take any remaining food directly from the party and get it into the hands of those who benefit from Forgotten Harvest's primary mission of relieving hunger in metro Detroit.
We've already purchased our Champagne Cruise tickets!
See you there?
© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved
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