Gala Event Raises $300,000 for Food Bank for Westchester

The following announcement is from the Food Bank for Westchester:

More than 300 guests joined with the Food Bank for Westchester in celebrating its 17th annual Valentine’s Day Wine Tasting Dinner, held February 6 at Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown. With the theme “Leading the Charge To End Hunger,” the gala event raised approximately $300,000.

Guests enjoyed a five-course gourmet dinner with selected wine pairings created especially for the event by the Culinary Host & Sponsor, Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships’ Partner Alison Awerbuch and Executive Chef John D’Arcangelo. The wines were donated by Pernod Ricard, USA, the Wine & Spirits Sponsor.

The guests also took part in a live auction led by actor Bruce Sabath for items including a trip to Sonoma Valley and a VIP package for two to a Giants or Jets game at MetLife Stadium. Shawyn Patterson Howard, President and CEO of the Yonkers Family YMCA, led a Fund-A-Need drive, in which attendees bid to directly support specific hunger-relief goals.

All of the proceeds from the event go to the Food Bank, which distributes food to more than 265 hunger-relief member programs throughout the county, including food pantries, soup kitchens, senior and child day-care centers, shelters and residences. The Food Bank estimates that over 200,000 Westchester County residents are hungry or at risk of hunger.

“The Food Bank supporters who attended the Valentine’s Day Dinner and took part in our auction and Fund-A-Need drive set a great example of leadership in helping tackle hunger in Westchester. Without their support, we would not be able to supply 265 soup kitchens, food pantries and other programs that feed the hungry in Westchester,” said Ellen Lynch, President and CEO of the Food Bank. “I would especially like to thank Abigail Kirsch who has been incredibly generous in hosting this annual dinner at Tappan Hill for the past 17 years. She is one of the premier caterers in the New York Metropolitan area, and she does an amazing job. The benefit to the Food Bank is beyond measure.”

Platinum Sponsors were Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, LLP and Greenfield Stein & Senior, LLP; and Gold Sponsors were Altium Wealth Management, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Chubb Insurance, First Niagara Bank, KeyBank, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard USA, Rakow Commercial Realty Group, Inc., Stop & Shop, Transamerica Retirement Solutions, UBS Financial Services, Inc., and Werlinich Asset Management and Signature Bank.

Event Committee members include: Scott Boilen, CEO/Allstar Products Group; Charles Day, Senior Vice President/UBS Financial Services, Inc.; Jean Marie Connolly, Senior Director/BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and Greg Werlinich, President/Werlinich Asset Management.

For more information, visit www.foodbankforwestchester.org.

About the Food Bank for Westchester

Incorporated in 1988, the Food Bank for Westchester is one of eight regional food banks in New York State. It acquires, warehouses and distributes more than 7.4 million pounds of food annually to 265 frontline hunger-relief programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, day care and residential programs serving the estimated 200,000 Westchester residents who are hungry or at risk of being hungry. Based in Elmsford, NY, the Food Bank is located in a 36,000sf warehouse and is home to Westchester’s largest refrigerator and freezer. For more information, visit www.foodbankforwestchester.org.

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