Thank you to The Destin Commons for sponsoring and hosting the Smoke on the Coast BBQ and Fireworks Festival! We are fortunate to be able to be one of the of the beneficiaries to receive $2.5K for Food For Thought Outreach! It was also great to be able to join Paula Deen's Family Kitchen to serve BBQ to guests of the festival.  Thank you to all who joined us!

Just two weeks away is the 2019 Smoke on the Coast BBQ & Fireworks Festival at the Destin Commons! Join us July 3rd from 5pm to 9pm for BBQ, music and fireworks.

Food For Thought is excited to be partnering with Paula Deen's Family Kitchen this year, and grateful to be one of the benefiting charities from this event.  In addition to the Smoke on the Coast festival, we are also looking forward to partnering with Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, as they will be able to donate un-used or leftover food to be used in the Full Circle Kitchen cooking classes.  This un-used food will be air-sealed so that it can be kept as fresh as possible for the cooking classes. 

The BBQ & Fireworks festival is sure to be a great family friendly event, so make sure to stop by to taste not just the BBQ our team will be serving, but also the many other teams and charities participating.  Below is a list of the teams, and in total, more than $85K will be raised to donate to the benefiting charities in our area.

Participating Barbecue teams and their partnering charities include:

- Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida is partnering with Cold Creek BBQ
- Dog-Harmony is partnering with Cafe Rico
- Destin Boys & Girls Club of the Emerald Coast is partnering with BIG Red Truck
- Habitat for Humanity ReStore Fort Walton Beach & Crestview is partnering with Hub City Smokehouse and Grill
- Children in Crisis, Inc. Florida is partnering with B&C Fire Safety
- Gulf Coast Council BSA is partnering with Smok'n Scouts BBQ Crew
- Youth Village, Inc. is partnering with Waste Management - Fort Walton Beach, FL
- Air Force Enlisted Village is partnering with The Gulf Restaurant on Okaloosa Island
- Rotary Club of Destin is partnering with Rotary Club of Destin
- Jobs4U, Inc. is partnering with Lillie's Q
- Food For Thought Outreach Inc is partnering with Paula Deen's Family Kitchen
- Emerald Coast Science Center is partnering with Bow tie bbq and catering
- Shelter House is partnering with The One and Culinary Pirates
- Opportunity Place, Inc. is partnering with B's Smoking Barbeque
- Niceville Rotary is partnering with Smokin Hot Wheels
- Junior League of the Emerald Coast is partnering with Buh's BBQ - Dry Memphis Style Rub and BBQ Sauces
- The Taylor Haugen Foundation is partnering with BrightView

In addition to plenty of BBQ to taste, there will be live music performed by Heritage and The Forrest Williams Band, with a fireworks show at the end of the night. 

We are looking forward to this event, and hope that you will join us!

More information can be found HERE.

Last week we at Food For Thought were honored to have Paula Deen stop by the Santa Rosa Beach Pantry! Paula and her foundation, The Bag Lady, graciously donated a $2,500 grant for Food for Thought.  

We are excited that Paula Deen has opened up two new restaurants in our area, "Paula Deen's Family Kitchen," in Panama City as well as a location at the Destin Commons.  Her new restaurant will also be partnering with Food For Thought to donate un-used or leftover food to be used in the Full Circle Kitchen cooking classes.  This un-used food will be air-sealed so that it can be kept as fresh as possible for the cooking classes. 

During her visit last week, Paula was able to see and help kids from the Walton Academy cook some of her very own recipes in the Full Circle Kitchen (pork chops and brussel sprouts), and she even leant a hand to the volunteer packing groups that were busy in the pantry prepping backpacks for the weekend.

Before leaving, Paula was even so kind to share in a blessing of the meal the students from Walton Academy had prepared.

We are so thankful for Paula Deen's generosity and look forward to working more together in the future to assist the children in our community.  

You can find out more information on Paula's visit to her new restaurant on the local news site, WEARTV.