The fourth annual Taste for Nourish event takes food beyond the crunching, munching, brunching and lunching that we do on a daily basis.
Event sponsor Nourish, the nonprofit arm of Mealtime Connections, supports families with children who have feeding challenges and lack the insurance to cover the costs of equipment and dietitian services.
The fundraiser will dish out appetizers and goodies from local restaurants, and show three short films that savor good eats.
Here, mealtimes mean something. “There are very few things where you can impact a person’s life as much as helping them learn to enjoy to eat and have the ability to eat,” said Mandy Carlsen, who co-founded Nourish along with Marsha Dunn Klein.
Here are five reasons, you should take a nibble out of the 2014 Taste for Nourish event.
1A good cause. The issues — both medical and behavioral — that keep children from eating range from premature births to cleft lips and palates to conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. These kiddos struggle to eat by mouth and the cost of necessary therapy and feeding equipment can add another burden to already-strained parents. The proceeds from Taste for Nourish fund the nonprofit and its scholarships to support families who don’t have the insurance to cover the expenses.
2Mini film festival on food. Rather than showing a feature-length film as they have at past Taste for Nourish events, the organizers this year opted for three short films to allow more time for families to share stories. The short films are “Breakfast in Bed, Operation: Eggs Benedict” by John Craig Ross, “For Udon and Country” from online food documentary series “The Perennial Plate” and “Crazy: A Story About Cake (And Other Things)” by Madeline Poirier with the website The American Recipe Project. As Carlsen notes, you’ve got your eggs Benedict for earlier in the day, your udon noodles for dinner and a bit of cake for dessert.
3Tucson treats. Before the films begin, local restaurants will serve an abundance of appetizers and desserts. Kingfisher, Skyline Country Club, Feast, Blue Willow and Cakes for Causes are among the donating restaurants.
4Big ticket items. The silent auction before the films might be your chance for a weekend getaway. Among gift baskets, food and art and other items, the auction includes Southwest Airlines tickets, Disneyland ‘park hopper’ passes and a weekend at the Tanque Verde Ranch.
5Do a dining double take. Poirier made her short film on cake through The American Recipe Project, an online endeavor dedicated to exploring food and family history.
“Food can be more than just what we eat every day for nourishment,” Poirer said by phone from Providence, Rhode Island. “It can be a vehicle for cultural change and a vehicle for preserving history as well.”
