The Seattle area is consistently among the most charitable cities in the country. And in this charitable region, many non-profit organizations depend on the kindness of chefs, restaurateurs, wineries, breweries, farms, and food vendors to raise funds to help deliver services. 

Business owners, large and small, field dozens of donation and participation requests weekly. Many already facing staffing shortages and rising expenses, decline most of the requests. However, there’s no shortage of events, participation and generosity.

This fall, events such as the James Beard Foundation Taste America, Elliott’s Oyster House’s Oyster New Year, Community Roots Housing’s Omnivorous, and the Washington Distillers Guild’s PROOF, the Washington Distiller’s Festival, will fill guests’ bellies and organizations’ coffers. 

Taste America will be  in Seattle at 7 p.m. on  Oct. 23 at Four Seasons in Downtown.

Photo courtesy of James Beard Foundation

• The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America tour stops in Seattle at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Four Seasons in Downtown Seattle. Tickets are $150-$200. 

The walkaround tasting will feature food samples from Janet Becerra of Pancita, Preeti Agarwal of Kricket Club and Meesha 127, Kristi Brown of Communion, Paulo Campbell and Donald Adams of The Chicken Supply, Grayson Pilar Corrales of MariPili, Brian Doherty and Danielle Grogan of Four Seasons Seattle and Goldfinch, Aisha Ibrahim of Canlis, Erasto “Red” Jackson of Lil Red’s Takeout and Catering, Shaun McCrain of Copine, Gabby Park of Paper Cake Shop, Kevin Smith of Beast and Cleaver, and Ethan Stowell of Ethan Stowell Restaurant Group.

Oyster New Year begins at 4 p.m on Nov. 2 at Elliott’s Oyster House on Pier 56.

Photos courtesy of Elliott’s Oyster House

• Dozens of shuckers will serve nearly 20,000 oysters during Oyster New Year at Elliott’s Oyster House on Pier 56 on the Seattle waterfront on Nov. 2. The oyster feast also features hot dishes, and beer, wine and spirits from more than 40 producers. VIP tickets for $250 grants guests entry from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. General admission from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. costs $175. The oyster bash benefits the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. 

For Lissa James Monberg of Hama Hama Oyster Co., she integrates events into the overall marketing, business development and professional networking plan for the Hood Canal oyster grower. James Monberg is the fifth generation of her family to lead the specialists in Blue Pool, Summerstone, and the eponymous Hama Hama Oysters. 

“Oyster New Year, that one is an awesome event,” Monberg says. “That is a really good community building event around the shellfish industry. It is an awesome gathering with folks from the shellfish industry. And the Puget Sound Restoration Fund is a great cause.”

Hama Hama Oyster Co. has also hosted events of its own at its Lilliwaup, Wash., farm and retail outlet. Banjo Rama last month hosted six bands featuring the banjo to benefit Warm Current, the non-profit that produces surf camps for Native youth in the Olympic Peninsula. The two-day celebration featured food from Yodelin Broth, Tagami Town Pizza, Hood Canal Street Eats, Olympic Mountain Ice Cream, and Hummingbird Cafe & Grill. 

Monberg is looking to bring back its iconic Hama Hama Oyster Rama in the spring of 2025 after it was halted during the pandemic. The festivities feature restaurants, breweries, wineries, distillers and activities such as cooking demonstrations and an oyster trivia competition. Hama Hama has raised almost $100,000 for local organizations such as the Hood Canal Education Foundation, the local fire auxiliary, the local Kiwanis club, the Shelton Scholarship Foundation, and the Shellfish Grower’s Climate Coalition.

• Restaurateurs such as JJ Proville and Zac Overman of L’Oursin and Bar Bayonne in the Central District often volunteer at benefit events in the region, often covering food and labor costs. Some organizations offer a stipend to help cover costs, making a dent on their expenses. 

Last week’s Omnivorous event at Fisher Pavilion raised over $200,000.

Photos courtesy of Community Roots Housing

Proville and Overman have participated in Community Roots Housing’s Omnivorous since its beginnings at Washington Hall, down the street from their restaurants. This year’s Omnivorous was held last week at Fisher Pavillion at the Seattle Center and raised over $200,000. 

“I have a personal stake in solving the issue of housing in Seattle,” Proville says of his participation. He also added that there’s marketing value, sometimes immediately, at other times down the road.   

“One year (Omnivorous) was held at Washington Hall which is nearly next to us,” Proville says. “That was the most successful for us because a ton of the guests came to us afterwards. The direct marketing on that end is helpful.” 

Harold Fields of Umami Kushi also participated in Omnivorous last week. He says affinity for the cause as well as practical considerations help him decide from the dozens of requests to participate in benefit events. 

“I choose them for what is the organization is about, what is the event about, who does it benefit. I try to do events that have a strong mission,” Fields says, who produces toothsome and savory Japanese-style dumplings called “pans.” “If you are operating any type of business, five to seven days a week, I have to consider, ‘can I execute X amount of units in that amount of time?’ “I also try to do a lot of events that are centralized in Seattle.

“I also try to find out who else is doing the events. You want to be around like-minded businesses. You want to be around other businesses that can highlight your business. Are you going to get new customers?”

The Washington Distillers Guild hosts PROOF at 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Metropolist

Photo courtesy of PROOF WA Distillery Festival

• The Washington Distillers Guild hosts PROOF, its annual consumer bonanza featuring dozens of local producers on from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 20 at Metropolist in SoDo. Distiller 2Bar will pour its 128-proof, 6-year single barrel bourbon. Copperworks will serving its small production plum gin. Tickets range from $64.95 to $79.95.