The generous can eat for two

Alicia Robinson

A handful of local restaurants are hoping their patrons will think

about the less fortunate when they make their menu choices.

Several local restaurants are taking part in the donate-a-dish

program, in which participating eateries pick an entree and give 10%

of the proceeds from the sale of that dish to the Orange Coast

Interfaith Shelter.

The program was created by the shelter’s fundraising group, the

Friends of Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, and is sponsored by the

Newport Beach Restaurant Assn.

The idea came from a similar program in San Diego, said Judy

Cooper, board president of Friends of Orange Coast Interfaith

Shelter.

Participating restaurants get one free ad a month in OC Metro

magazine in exchange for donating money from sales of their selected

dishes, and they in return agree to give at least $100 a month to the

shelter, even if their donate-a-dish sales don’t generate that much.

The free publicity is a perk for restaurants, Cooper said, but

that’s not why they’ve joined the program.

“I’ve been here for about two and a half years, and I think it’s

about time for me to give back to the community,” Bamboo Bistro owner

Chau Dang said.

She chose one the most popular dishes at her Corona del Mar

restaurant, the house special rice noodle dish, and she said she’s

gotten a good response.

“Customers are very supportive,” she said. “I think it’s a good

thing.”

Tony Hibbard, general manager of Newport Beach’s Marco Polo

Italian Eatery, has tried using seafood, pasta and steak dishes for

the program, but he said not many of his customers have been biting.

“Every little bit counts [however],” he said. “We live in a very

affluent area. It’s a good chance for people to give back to homeless

people.”

Programs such as this are crucial, said Michael Arnot, executive

director of the shelter.

“We rely very heavily on private donations,” he said. “It’s one of

our largest funding sources.”

With the money generated by fundraisers such as the donate-a-dish

program, the shelter helps homeless families in Orange County become

self-sufficient, offering emergency shelter, counseling, job training

and other services. The shelter is the oldest and largest shelter for

homeless families in Orange County, Cooper said.

The donate-a-dish program was launched in August and will continue

“for as long as we can get people to participate,” Cooper said. Eight

restaurants are now involved, and others have promised to join in

2004, Cooper said.

The participating restaurants are the Bamboo Bistro and the

Bungalow in Corona del Mar; the Cannery, Marco Polo Italian Eatery,

the Newport Beach Brewing Co., Sapori Italian Ristorante and Sol

Grill in Newport Beach; and the Village Inn on Balboa Island.

For information on the program, call Judy Cooper at (949)

640-8828.