When Chef Quinn Adkins was named Grand Champion of the 2017 Texas Pete® Kitchen Hero Cook-Off, it marked an important milestone in the event’s history—a total of $50,000 donated to fight hunger.
In each of the past five years, Garner Foods has given a $10,000 check in the winning chef’s name to the restaurant industry’s top charity, the No Kid Hungry Project. As many as 500,000 children have been fed through these donations.
“Many in America are not aware of the child hunger problem within our country,” explains Garner Foods President Ann Garner Riddle. According to the No Kid Hungry Project, one in six children in America lives with a family that struggles to put nutritious food on the table. That equates to 13 million children. Working through support programs nationwide, No Kid Hungry can provide a nutritious meal for just 10¢ per child.
The Texas Pete® Kitchen Hero Cook-Off is held each year during the Multi-Unit Food Service Operators (MUFSO) Super Show in Dallas, Texas. Chain restaurant chefs are invited to compete by preparing a dish using a surprise Texas Pete® product and additional ingredients. Their dishes are then presented to a panel of chain restaurant culinary experts.
In addition to Adkins from Culver’s Restaurant, this year’s competitors included Chef Jamie Carawan of Twin Peaks, Chef Anthony Audette of Jack-in-the-Box, and Chef John Baez of Landry’s Seafood.
“Everyone at Culver’s was excited about the opportunity to support the No Kid Hungry effort through the competition,” said Adkins. “To win the cook-off makes it even better. To know that our efforts today will feed so many hungry children is truly a blessing.”
Diana Hovey, Sr. Vice President, Dine Out for No Kid Hungry, added, “We are thrilled about our five-year partnership with the Texas Pete® Kitchen Hero Cook-Off. Thanks to their generous donation of $50,000 over the last five years, we’ve been able to connect kids in need to 500,000 nutritious meals.”
Glenn Garner, Chief Marketing Officer for Garner Foods, said, “Garner Foods’ passion is to assist in the effort to battle hunger. Congratulations to Chef Adkins and to the other chefs and judges who made this year’s milestone event a success.”
Garner Foods is also a contributor to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. The food bank provides about 30 million meals per year within an 18-county service area.
