THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501100133
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
SOURCE: SAM MARTINETTE
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
It might be stretching things to say the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia is smoking, but the efforts of the non-profit organization, with a mission to feed the hungry, has certainly benefited recently from both tobacco and a byproduct.
Last week representatives of the Philip Morris Co., Inc. of Richmond, presented the Foodbank a check for $15,000, one of six grants statewide, totaling $115,000, to help alleviate hunger.
``In our case the money will fund a manager for our prepared food rescue program, which is now called the Fresh Foods Initiative,'' explained Lisa Sands of the Foodbank. Formerly known as Virginia's Table, the program assures that food that is already prepared but not served in restaurants doesn't go to waste. Sands said that fresh produce is also picked up and redistributed, to the tune of over a million pounds last year locally.
``The Philip Morris grant will allow us to fund a manager who was formerly a volunteer,'' Sands said, ``and whose stint would have ended in April. Now we'll be able to hire her as a paid employee.''
And where there's smoke there's fire, in this case a full-color poster called ``Virginia Beach night lights,'' featuring match book and box covers from nearly 50 restaurants and night spots in the resort city, including two landmarks that have recently closed, the Isle of Capri and Rogue's. The colorful match books are also reproduced on T-Shirts, sweat shirts and aprons, and a portion of the sales benefit the Foodbank.
``The posters are sold through restaurants and gift shops, and the first week they came out we received nearly $400 from their sales,'' said Sands. ``And even if people don't smoke there are match book collectors out there who are crazy about them. The cool part is that it's a wonderful way to have money come in on a consistent basis for us, which is nice when all non-profit organizations are looking at smaller staffs.''
``We currently have 22 cities in the U.S. and two international cities, Berlin and Toronto,'' explained Ian Murphy of Image Ad Graphics in Virginia Beach. Four of those 22 have just been released, and Norfolk is due for the ``night lights'' treatment in February. Murphy said plans call for 52 more cities to be added over the next two years. The posters, aprons and T-shirts sell for $15, while the sweat shirts sell for $36. For information, call Image Ad Graphics, 463-5211.
The Foodbank is already selling tickets for this year's ``Taste of Hampton Roads,'' set for March 29 at the Omni Waterside in Norfolk. The annual fund-raiser will feature 35 restaurants, a variety of wines and beers selected to match the food offerings, and I'm told that ticket sales are limited to 750.
``We want to make sure that everyone will have a comfortable evening, making it something that people want to attend every year,'' Sands said. I'll have more about the event as it draws near, but if you want to get the jump on the crowd, tickets are $35 per person, including food and beverages, and can be charged by phone (624-1333), or you may send a check to the Foodbank, 2308 Granby St., Norfolk 23517.
While we're on the subject of wine, the d'Art Center will host ``New Art-New Wine 1995'' Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door, and will include samplings of a host of new wines, hors d'oeuvres, a blind auction, and a chance to win some door prizes.
``We'll have calligraphy, sculpture, jewelry, stained glass, pottery, photography, paintings, prints . . . we'll cover the gamut,'' artist Beverly Furman said.
For information, call 625-4211. by CNB