Annual Partnership with No Kid Hungry Began with Chainwide Winter Fundraiser, and Extends Into Grand Opening Celebrations Throughout the Year
Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill, a premium fast casual restaurant brand serving a “Feel Good About Eating,” Mexican-inspired menu at 27 restaurants in California, Oregon and Nevada, has raised $10,000 for No Kid Hungry through a fundraising campaign held at all of its locations this winter. In partnership with Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Sharky’s donated $1 to No Kid Hungry for each Wild Alaska Salmon menu item purchased at its restaurants between February 16 and April 13, 2017. Sharky’s offers several menu items featuring wild-caught and sustainable Alaska Salmon, including the popular Wild Salmon Lite Burrito and the recently introduced Organic Roasted Veggie Bowl.
“We are so grateful to be able to support No Kid Hungry’s mission to end childhood hunger in our country,” said Steven Paperno, founder and CEO, Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill. “No Kid Hungry is a tremendous organization and one with which we are so very proud to partner. Through their work, thousands of children receive nutritious meals each day to support their physical and emotional health. At Sharky’s, we are all committed to helping make a real difference in this effort.”
Since 1984, No Kid Hungry has connected vulnerable children with effective nutrition programs where they live, learn and play by creating public-private partnerships that work together to identify and break down barriers to meal access. No Kid Hungry also teaches low-income families how to stretch their food budgets and cook healthy, affordable meals. The organization supports many local agencies in the cities with Sharky’s restaurants, including: Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, West Side Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, and Child Care Resource Center in the Los Angeles area; Oregon Food Bank, Partners for Hunger Free Oregon, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the Portland area; and Three Square in Las Vegas.
As part of the partnership with No Kid Hungry, Sharky’s also collects donations at grand opening events, including recent openings in May in Las Vegas and Marina del Rey, California.
No child should go hungry in America, but 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. Using proven, practical solutions, No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger today by ensuring that kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast, eat healthy summer meals, and families learn the skills they need to shop and cook on a budget. When we all work together, we can make sure kids get the healthy food they need. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) is a partnership of the State of Alaska and the Alaska seafood industry promoting the benefits of wild and sustainable Alaska seafood and offering seafood industry education. The seafood industry is Alaska’s largest private sector employer with nearly 60 percent of all seafood and 90-95 percent of wild salmon harvested in the U.S. coming from Alaska. In addition to wild salmon, Alaska is known for its crab and whitefish varieties, such as cod, sablefish, halibut, pollock, sole, and rockfish, and is available frozen, canned, smoked and fresh year-round. Alaska has been dedicated to sustainable seafood for more than 50 years and is the only state with a Constitution that mandates all seafood be maintained under the sustained yield principle. Alaska has taken a leadership role in setting the standard for precautionary resource management to protect fisheries and surrounding habitats for future generations and leading to an ever-replenishing supply of wild seafood for markets worldwide.
Westlake Village, Calif.-based Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill was founded in 1992 by Chief Executive Officer Steven Paperno. Always leading an active lifestyle, Paperno sought to create a restaurant, which combined his passion for healthy living with the exciting and bold flavors of Mexico. Its Feel Good About Eating™ menu is rooted in organic, non-GMO and antibiotic-free and hormone-free ingredients that are made-to-order and prepared with stone oven and mesquite-grilled cooking styles for optimal flavor. Today Sharky’s has 27 locations in Southern California, Oregon, and Nevada, and plans to open more restaurants in those markets and Arizona and Northern California in the next two years. For more information please visit Sharkys.com, or connect socially, @SharkysSocial or #SharkysShare.
