Bill Rice, the Zobys and the $1,000 Check

The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia can feed a person for 29 cents. They are able to do this by using food brokers and by purchasing surpluses. To be honest, money comes in a lot more handy at the Foodbank than the cans of food we strive to collect and deliver.

However, coming between a server and his hard-earned cash can be a difficult task! I believe this is partially due to the large number of scams the nation has endured in recent years. Who doesn't remember the large salaries given to CEOs of charitable organizations? Who hasn't been forced into donating to the United Way during the "fair share" program in which an employer could reap prizes if 100% of the employees participated, causing the employer to threaten the employees?

And during the Christmas season there seems to be someone at every corner crying out for a donation for this charity or that one. I think many people become inured to the call for help and instead become protective of their wallets. So a can of food is a more tangible gift, and seems less like a ploy and more like a solution.

However, the foodbank can feed someone for 29 cents! While I strive to collect as many pounds of non-perishable goods as possible, I can't help but mention this fact in each year's invitation. The money fluctuates from year to year; I don't count on it to make the drive a success. And I certainly never expected the AMAZING gift of $1,000 contributed by the Zoby family, owners of 456 Fish, Byrd and Baldwin Brothers Steakhouse, Bodega and The Big Easy.

General manager Bill Rice was just as excited as I was that first year, and he wholeheartedly campaigned to have this donation given to the food drive. I am forever in his debt for that help. But I have never really publicized the donation. Not because it was secret, but because I was afraid of scaring away other participants, whether for cans or cash. I figured if Todd Jurich's Bistro or Trilogy began to think of it as a competition, they might not give at all.

My "thank you" letters for that year metioned the total amount collected, but I never mentioned that the Zoby family had contributed almost all of it. Just a general "Wow, we collected $1,100!" After all these years, I've always feared Bill Rice and the Zobys felt as if I had "taken them for a ride", even though the check was made out to and cashed by the foodbank.

So my apologies to the Zoby family, as I never really intended to keep the donation secret, I just didn't know how to announce it!

JUST FOR FUN: Many children go hungry during the summer months because they are not provided the free breakfast or lunch at public schools. For parents, the warm months can be a financial nightmare. Imagine a local church that provides summer camp or summer classes for a group of impoverished children. The $1,000 would be enough to provide 3,448 meals or about 70 days worth of food for 50 kids at a shelter such as this. Enough to help those kids eat throughout the summer.