Seattle's Premier Chefs Gather on July 19 to End Childhood Hunger in Their Community and across America.

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation[R] Seattle, Presented by American Express[R], Celebrates 20(th) Year

SEATTLE -- With flavorful food and a passion for helping hungry children, Seattle's top chefs and restaurants will gather for Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, presented by American Express. Taste of the Nation Seattle celebrates its 20th year of helping raise funds for Share Our Strength's fight to end childhood hunger in this community and across America. This year's event will be held on July 19 at the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. with a VIP reception from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

More than 75 of the city's finest restaurants, wineries, and beverage purveyors will participate in Taste of the Nation Seattle, providing a uniquely memorable evening, highlighting the best Seattle has to offer in food and wine. Along with Tom Douglas, participating chefs feature local favorites including John Howie, Mauro Golmarvi, Holly Smith, Thierry Rautureau, and Jerry Traunfeld, among others. Guests will be able to pair their favorite foods with fine wine from local wineries including Chateau Ste. Michelle and Novelty Hill -- Januik Winery.

"Working in downtown restaurants all these years, I've seen a lot of hungry people on the streets. This has motivated me to move beyond quarters and dollars to help create a more sophisticated solution," said Seattle chef Tom Douglas, who helped start the Taste of the Nation Seattle event 20 years ago.

In addition to fabulous food and drink, the event will also feature an exciting auction led by renowned auctioneer Jay Fiske. The auction will feature must-have lots such as a trip to Thailand, a retrospective wine dinner at Ray's Boathouse, and dinner for 20 with Tom Douglas, Thierry Rautureau and Monique Barbeau.

"Taste of the Nation is a marvelous gathering of restaurateurs, suppliers, volunteers and patrons who come together to see to it others never go hungry," said Fiske. "It is a testament to how generous our community is and how we appreciate the gift of having so many top chef's in Seattle."

This year's event also offers something special for VIP's. Magnum Level ticket holders and sponsors also receive access to a 20th Anniversary reception. The region's premier Winemakers will pour from Magnums and Large Format Bottles while VIP's enjoy tray-passed appetizers by The Grange Cafe, Moxie, Sitka & Spruce, Pair and others, as well as a special Winemaker's Wheel of Giving. All VIP guests will also be treated with a gift bag to take away from the event.

"We are proud to do our part and lucky to do this work here in Seattle. Our city consistently ranks second out of 60 cities nationwide in total funds raised in the fight against childhood hunger," Cindy Baccetti, event co-chair of Taste of the Nation Seattle.

Support from national presenting sponsor American Express, national sponsors SYSCO, The Food Network, Woodford Reserve and Winestyles ensure that 100 percent of ticket sale proceeds go to Share Our Strength's effort to end childhood hunger. Regional sponsor Charlie's Produce will return in 2007 for their 19th year as a critical sponsor of the event.

"As a locally owned and operated company, we are excited about our 19th year of sponsoring Share Our Strength's Seattle Taste of the Nation, an event that raises money to end childhood hunger in Washington," said Charlie Billow, CEO of Charlie's Produce. "This is not a cause that we take lightly, as the numbers of children facing hunger issues is staggering."

Overwhelming local support puts the event on pace for a record-setting year. 2007 marks countless new sponsors including Seattle's first-ever official wine partner Chateau Ste. Michelle & Columbia Crest Grand Estates, Print partners McCallum Print Group and Mailhanders, media partners The Seattle Times Company, NWsource.com, Jack FM, AM 1090, Seattle Magazine, Where Seattle Magazine, and generous support from Value Village, Alaska Distributors, Privatedine.com, Polygon Homes and Bargreen Ellingson, as well as event host Bite of Seattle.

The area charities that will benefit from this year's event are FareStart, Food Lifeline, Solid Ground, The Pike Place Market Foundation and Children's Alliance. Since 1987, Taste of the Nation events have raised more than $61 million nationwide, including more than $2.3 million from efforts in Seattle alone.

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation is the nation's finest culinary benefit supporting the effort to end childhood hunger in America. Every spring, thousands of the best chefs and restaurants donate their time, talent and cuisine to create more than 60 events throughout the United States and Canada, helping to raise millions for hungry children. Each distinctive event takes on the unique personality, culture and cuisine of its host city, with formats ranging from food and wine tastings to seated dinners and outdoor barbeques.

12 million children face hunger in the U.S. In Washington state, kids in 200,000 households don't know if they will have food for a next meal and 39 percent of those served in local food banks are children. Their families are categorized as "working poor," the result of low-wage jobs and our state's high housing, food and other costs of living. A family of four, deemed food-insecure, has $12 per day for groceries total or roughly $1 per person for each meal. These events promote awareness of Share Our Strength's efforts to end childhood hunger and raise funds to help ensure that all children have access to the nutritious food they need to learn, grow and thrive. The funds raised through Taste of the Nation support effective community-based programs that feed hungry children and partner with advocates pursuing long-term solutions to the challenge of hunger, both locally and nationally.

"An end to childhood hunger in our country is within reach," said Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength. "With all the participants in Taste of the Nation Seattle sharing their strengths we are creating more resources for the greater good of Seattle and our great nation."

Share Our Strength believes the way to end childhood hunger is to surround every child with nutritious food in the places they live, learn, play and pray. To do so, we work with local organizations to help families help themselves through three important areas: increasing access to the public and private programs that can provide food to those who need it, strengthening the community infrastructure for getting healthy food to children, and improving nutrition education.

Tickets start at $125 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-26TASTE or visiting www.strength.org.

About Share Our Strength

Since 1984, Share Our Strength has led the fight against global hunger and poverty by inspiring individuals and businesses to share their strengths. Today we are focusing on a 20-year vision to end childhood hunger in America. By raising funds to support the most effective community-based programs that feed hungry children, partnering with organizations pursuing long-term solutions, and helping families help themselves through education programs, Share Our Strength will ensure that the nearly 14 million children facing hunger have access to the nutritious food they need to learn, grow and thrive. For more information, please visit www.strength.org.