Wine, food fest serves charities

Marisa O’Neil

People will get a little sample of a lot of South Coast Plaza’s

culinary treats Thursday, and all proceeds will go to a good cause.

The 13th Summer Food and Wine Festival will make its annual stop

at South Coast Plaza, featuring wines, microbrew beers and food from

more than 25 Plaza restaurants. All the money raised will go to the

Second Harvest Food Bank and Costa Mesa’s Someone Cares Soup Kitchen.

Both organizations work to feed needy families in Orange County.

“In the affluent community we live in, people don’t see the amount

of need that exists,” South Coast Plaza partner Anton Segerstrom

said.

The festival will have wine from more than 40 different wineries.

It will include lesser-known wines from Central Coast wineries,

Segerstrom said.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn about the wines that are out

there,” he said.

And if one wine doesn’t strike your fancy, no harm, no foul.

Festival tickets -- still available at the door for $55 -- cover all

the food and wine your heart desires.

Dishes offered will include prime rib sandwiches from Lawry’s

Carvery, lobster and rock shrimp risotto from the Clubhouse and

deserts from upscale chocolate maker Godiva.

Last year, the festival raised about $60,000, shared by the two

charities.

It serves as one of the major fundraisers for Someone Cares, which

celebrated its 19th anniversary on Saturday, manager Shannon Santos

said.

The kitchen feeds about 300 people every day and tutors children

at nearby Pomona Elementary School, she said.

Thursday’s festival is one of two held each year that benefits

Second Harvest. A fall festival, that focuses more on micro-brewed

beer and has restaurants from throughout the county, benefits Second

Harvest.

Of each dollar that comes into the food bank, 94.2 cents goes to

feed the needy, development manager Monica Horner said. Their

programs include snacks for children at low-income schools, free

groceries for needy seniors, a mobile food pantry and volunteers who

pick produce from local fields to feed families.

“These are mothers and children and also the working poor --

people who have jobs but can’t afford to make ends meet because of

the high cost of housing here,” Horner said.

The festival will take place Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the

Macy’s Home Store Wing of South Coast Plaza.