City to Host 23rd Annual Super Bowl ‘Party with a Purpose’
Taste of the NFL, a Twin Cities-based, non-profit organization dedicated to kicking hunger in America, is headed to Brooklyn to host its 23rd annual Party with a Purpose. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, host of the Food Network’s Chopped Ted Allen, New York City restaurateur Drew Nieporent, National Football League Senior Vice President of Events Frank Supovitz, former New York Giant Bill Ard and former Jets standout Freeman McNeil joined Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski to announce plans for the upcoming party at a press conference on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall earlier today.
Per tradition, the hunger relief event will take place on the eve of the Super Bowl, Saturday, February 1, 2014, and will be held at Pier 12 of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Founded by Minneapolis restaurateur Wayne Kostroski in 1992 when Minnesota hosted Super Bowl XXVI, the organization is known for its annual premier Super Bowl party that pairs renowned chefs from each NFL market with current, alumni and Hall of Fame players. The event draws celebrities from all areas of the entertainment world to raise awareness and funds for hunger relief in cities throughout the country.
The 2014 Super Bowl marks a historic first for the NFL: the only outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl hosted by two states and two teams. In accordance with the Taste of the NFL’s model, proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Food Bank for New York City (10%), Community Food Bank of New Jersey (10%), and Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger (10%), as a gesture of goodwill to the borough for serving as the event’s host city. The balance of the proceeds will be donated to the designated food bank in each of the other NFL cities, as well as key hunger relief organizations across the country.
This years event will also feature a first-time coffee / coffee-cocktail bar sponsored by a new company started by Grace Hightower De-Niro, Coffees of Rwanda. Guests will be treated to a bevy of hand-crafted premium coffee/ espresso selections as well as alcohol infused coffee cocktails perfected by master mixologists. Motivated and inspired by its people’s courageous spirit to succeed, it is her mission to enhance the lives of the Rwandan people by empowering them with the opportunity to market their unique products to the world.
“We’re proud to have the opportunity for our annual Super Bowl party to benefit those in need in New York and New Jersey,” said Taste of the NFL founder, Wayne Kostroski. “Brooklyn has welcomed us with open arms, and Pier 12 will serve as the perfect backdrop to showcase the dedication and culinary skills of our partner chefs as we raise funds to help kick hunger nationwide.”
Additional highlights of this year’s “Party with a Purpose” will include featured chefs from the New York area, special appearances by cast members of TLC’s Cake Boss, the newly crowned Miss America, and more. There is also a silent auction with unique sports memorabilia, exciting travel opportunities, culinary packages and more. Limited tickets remain. For more information, visit www.TasteoftheNFL.com.
The 2014 event is made possible through the generosity of Taste of the NFL partners including E & J Gallo, Uptown Network and American Family Insurance. Additional supporting sponsors include Pernod Ricard. For those who can’t make it to the event but still want to support Taste of the NFL’s mission to kick hunger, they are encouraged to log on to www.KickHungerChallenge.com and make a donation in the name of their favorite NFL team—proceeds will directly impact the donation of meals to those in need in their team’s community.
KEY QUOTES FROM TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE INCLUDE:
WAYNE KOSTROSKI – Taste of the NFL Founder
- “I couldn’t be more excited to be in Brooklyn with Taste of the NFL and to have Marty and his team at the leadership to host the 23rd event because this one is going to be off the charts, off the map.”
- “It’s going to be the largest attended and we are going to be donating the largest dollar amount, the largest meal amount ever, in the twenty- three years.”
- “Every dollar that’s donated provides eight meals to a food bank like Bed-Stuy and others. Think about that. If you could part with ten bucks, you could provide 80 meals.”
MARTY MARKOWITZ – Brooklyn Borough President
- “Bravo to the Taste of the NFL, to NYC EDC and President Seth Pinsky and to the Port Authority at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal for partnering to make this event a reality in Brooklyn. As Brooklyn’s ‘foodie in chief,’ I really went nuts when I found out that Taste of the NFL—the best party with a purpose in the country—was coming to our borough.” • “Taste of the NFL does fantastic work fighting hunger—and I couldn’t be happier that a portion of the money raised is going to Brooklyn’s own Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger—which, led by Reverend Melony Samuels, helps to provide for Brooklynites struggling to put food on their tables. Together, I know that Taste of the NFL and the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger have the right recipe to tackle hunger in Brooklyn and beyond.”
FRANK SUPOVITZ – National Football League’s Senior Vice President of Events
- “We’re here to announce another first. And that is the very first event of a Super Bowl hosted by this region, right here in Brooklyn.”
- “We can have another first when we leave here on Saturday night before the Super Bowl and establish a record number of people that we can help feed through the results of Taste of the NFL.”
TED ALLEN – Food Network’s Chopped host
- “The culture of generosity that exists among chefs seems to be built into their DNA.”
- “Hunger is a problem that is intolerable and we need to work harder and do everything we can so that every American goes to bed with a meal in their tummy.”
DREW NIEPORENT – New York City Restaurateur
- “This event is singularly the event we look to every year for food. I promise you a fantastic night in Brooklyn.”
KYLE KYMBALL – New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Executive Director
- “Taste of the NFL will not only bring the best local cuisine from cities across the country to New York, it will also raise awareness for a great cause by helping to fight hunger across the five boroughs as well as the United States.”
- “It is an honor to host the Taste of the NFL at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, and we look forward to a great event this winter.”
ABOUT TASTE OF THE NFL
The Taste of the NFL (TNFL) is a 501c3 that exists to raise awareness and dollars for hunger relief organizations involved in kicking hunger in America. The Minneapolis-based organization conducts national and local fundraising events throughout the year to raise money to combat hunger issues facing millions of Americans. To date, Taste of the NFL has distributed in excess of $14 million for this critically important cause and is looking forward to its 2014 event on the eve of Super Bowl XLVIII in New York/New Jersey. For more information, visit www.TasteoftheNFL.com.
ABOUT KICK HUNGER CHALLENGE
The Kick Hunger Challenge is an online-only fundraising campaign spearheaded by Taste of the NFL. This friendly “competition” pits fans from all 32 NFL teams against each other to raise money for food banks in NFL communities nationwide. Throughout the 2013-14 football season, fans will have the opportunity to support one of the 32 NFL teams or Brooklyn and directly impact the donation of thousands of meals to food banks in their team’s community.
