The final numbers are in for Sizzle Dining 2024 and they’re impressive.
To refresh your memory, Sizzle is an annual culinary event held in September at participating Lee, Collier and Charlotte county restaurants — from Babcock Ranch to Marco Island and everywhere in between.
For 21 days, venues offer two- to four-course lunches and dinners for $19, $29, $39 or $49. Pop-up brunches and chef-led demonstrations were added this year. And $1 of each meal sold goes to the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack.
“Blessings in a Backpack uses these dollars to fill backpacks with nutritious food for food-insecure elementary school students to eat over the weekend when school-provided meals are unavailable,” Sizzle co-founder Guy Clarke wrote in an op/ed for The News-Press.
It’s a win-win event for diners, restaurants and the community.
“I think it’s a great program,” Pedro Aguirre, owner of Casa Blanca in Fort Myers, said. “It was our first time doing it. We saw a good turnaround, maybe 10 to 15 tables a week. If I get invited next year, I’ll do it again.”