5 Very Good Reasons to Dine Out for Life on March 25th, 2014

by Tim Pawsey on March 18, 2014

Maenam is just one of more than 125 restaurants taking part in Dining Out for Life, ©TP photo

It’s quite a milestone: Dining Out for Life turns 20 this year.

One thing I’ve learned covering food and wine over the years: No other industry is as generous as the hospitality sector. If there was a way to tally up volunteer hours and value of labour and goods donated, I’m sure the restaurant industry and its related foodservice and wine agency areas would far exceed all other industries combined.

No wonder Dining Out For Life is now BC’s largest restaurant fundraiser. Over the two decades since it started, restaurants from Whistler to White Rock have raised some $3 Million for men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Here are just some of the reasons why you should be Dining Out for Life on March 25th…

• With over 125 restaurants participating in the Lower Mainland, chances are you may even be able to walk to a participating resto near you. Some newcomers this year include: The Parker, The Union, Mamie Taylor’s, Chuchilla, Long Tail Kitchen and Maenam. For a complete and updated list of restaurants, visit www.diningoutforlife.ca.

• Whether you go for breakfast, lunch or dinner, 25% percent of the meal cost will go to help registered not for profit The Vancouver Friends For Life Society (www.friendsforlife.ca) and A Loving Spoonful (www.alovingspoonful.org) .

• You’ll be directly helping people in serious need right here in the Lower Mainland. About 18,000 men, women and children are living with HIV / AIDS in BC. Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside maintains the highest HIV infection rate in North America, affecting 30% of the local population, mainly women.

• You can win $500 just for posting a food pic on social media. Tag it with the partner restaurant name and @VanDOFL and #DOFL20. There are lots of other prizes too, from Official Team Canada hockey gear, restaurant gift certificates and limited edition 20th Anniversary Dining Out For Life 2014 wine glasses.

• If you’re reading this from somewhere else, you can still participate. Dining Out For Life takes place in 60 cities throughout the US & Canada

Lisa Martella, Executive Director, A Loving Spoonful and Sheena Sargeant, Executive Director, Friends For Life

More about the beneficiaries

The Vancouver Friends for Life Society is a registered, charitable not-for-profit society operating an innovative wellness center at Vancouver’s Diamond Centre For Living for people living with serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer. Our volunteers provide nearly 1,000 members access to Friends For Life services such as:

Over 60 different support therapies ranging from therapeutic massage to naturopathy to music therapy to yoga
End-of-life care to home-bound clients
7,500+ nutritious meals served each year

A Loving Spoonful is a volunteer-driven, non-partisan Society that provides free, nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in Greater Vancouver and surrounding areas. For more than 20 years our volunteers deliver approximately 1,200 frozen meals and over 250 snack packs every week to men, women and children who are primarily homebound with AIDS. Our average meal cost is only $3.55. ALS provides:

Over 100,000 meals per year to men, women and children affected by
HIV/AIDS in Metro Vancouver — over 70% of the families on service are headed by a single mother
Nutritional counselling and meal planning as part of our Wellness Program
A weekly hot lunch program to youth affected by HIV/AIDS

More info at:

www.diningoutforlife.ca www.facebook.com/VanDOFL www.twitter.com/VanDOFL