I’m really excited about this week’s Foodie Friday feature. Last week I attended an event at Amelie Arena hosted by Give & Grub food truck for the Tampa Bay Bloggers Network! We were joined by some of the Lightning Cheerleaders and Thunderbug, the mascot. This was a great chance to use my foodie powers for good.
The Who
Laser Spine Institute and the Tampa Bay Lightning have teamed up to fight hunger in the Tampa Bay area through the Give & Grub food truck – a unique new way for the company and the NHL franchise to stick it to hunger right here in our local community. For every gourmet menu item sold or the use of the #GiveandGrub hashtag, Laser Spine Institute will donate a meal to a hungry child in the Tampa Bay area. There are 2 designated schools in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County that are recipients of the meals. The project is supported by a partnership with Feeding America Tampa Bay and Metropolitan Ministries.
The Why
Did you know that 700,000 people in the Tampa Bay area go hungry everyday? 1 in 4 are children. This is a fantastic way to let your foodie powers do some good in the world. Give and Grub has a mission to give 150,000 meals in its first year. At the blog event hosted for Tampa Bay Bloggers, we generated a record breaking 2, 800 meals for hungry kids!
The Where
You can find the Give & Grub Food Truck at every Tampa Bay Lightning home game serving up tasty gourmet meals. The website lists other upcoming locations. If you don’t see them coming to a location near you, then submit an online request.
The What
The food, that’s what! This food truck is cranking out some good stuff. 4 of the meals were actually chosen by the TB Lightning.
At our event, the newest addition to the menu was unveiled just for us – a new steak sandwich with gouda cheese and sweet potato waffle fries with a marshmallow sauce. I love gouda cheese and I really loved the sweet potato fries. This was actually my favorite dish of the night. They are still looking for a proper name for this yummy sandwich!
Other notable dishes are the Cooper’s Candied Jalapeno Burger, the Bishop Bowl with blackened shrimp and yellow rice, and Callahan’s Mac Slam sausage mac n cheese.
This a good cause and a really great project. They began in October of 2014 and already their impact is being felt by thousands of kids who would not have food on the days they are not in school. I’m in and I’ve committed to using the #GiveAndGrub hashtag for all of my foodie posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Join me as we “Stick it to hunger.”
Drumroll….as an added incentive to get onboard with this awesome program I’m also hosting a giveaway, courtesy of the Laser Spine Institute and Tampa Bay Lightning. 2 tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game are up for grabs. The game is Thursday, March 26th. The lucky winner gets 2 tickets and 1 meal voucher for the Give and Grub food truck! The giveaway ends at midnight on March 18th!
Lauren G. , Outdoorsy Diva™
“Adventure is a lifestyle!”
2 Comments
Melanie A
March 17, 2015 at 12:01 pmEverything looks delicious! That steak sandwich with the waffle fries looks so good but I’m tempted to also try the Mac & Cheese!
Alysia Wms
March 17, 2015 at 12:41 pmThe food looks tasty! I’m torn between whether I’d like the Steak Sandwich with Gouda Cheese and the Bishop Bowl with Blackened Shrimp and Yellow Rice most.