When I wrote about Orlando’s Taste of the Nation event in August I said that I hoped it would be the last one.
It turns out that it was.
Of course, I was hoping that there wouldn’t be any need for the event, which raises money to deal with childhood hunger. Unfortunately, there is still a need.
But after 27 years, the grand food and wine event, which had been operating under the auspices of Share Our Strength, a national organization, is going local. It will now be known as Taste! Central Florida.
Taste! continues to be a fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank and the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. But with the change, more funds will go to their programs.
The reason for the change is simple, said spokeswoman Krista Zilizi Logue. It allows the event sponsors to keep more of the funds raised in Central Florida. Although organizers have always stated that all monies raised go to childhood hunger relief, 20 percent of the Orlando Taste of the Nation’s funds went to Share Our Strength’s programs.
Just about everything else remains the same. Still at the Orlando World Center Marriott, still in August (the 19th, this year), still featuring the luminaries of Central Florida’s culinary community who dedicate their time and materials to the effort. (World Center Marriott donates the space, too.)
So here’s what else you need to know:
WHEN
Saturday, August 19, 2017 6:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
WHERE
Orlando World Center Marriott 8701 World Center Dr., Orlando
TICKETS
$150 each
CURRENT TICKET PROMOTION Use code KICKOFFORL and get 25 percent off. That offer is good only through March 14, so don’t wait.
Click this link to go to tastecfl.org
