• Article
• Oct 23, 2015

Taste of the NFL, a premier sanctioned NFL organization, proudly announces that it will celebrate the 25^th anniversary of its annual Party with a Purpose® at the legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco’s Bay Area Saturday, February 6, 2016. The Cow Palace, which has hosted many distinguished festivals and performers, including The Grateful Dead, U2 and The Beatles, will be home to Taste of the NFL’s celebrated event as they commemorate their milestone anniversary on Super Bowl Eve. Tickets to this year’s highly-anticipated event are now available for sale.

“It has been a truly remarkable experience to watch this event evolve,” says Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski. “As Party with a Purpose continues to grow, so has the need for hunger relief unfortunately. We are proud to be celebrating 25 years and over $24 million, nearly 200 million meals, to food banks and nonprofit organizations across the country.”

A fun-filled evening honoring two of America’s favorite pastimes—food and football—Taste of the NFL’s Party with a Purpose® pairs extraordinary chefs from the 32 NFL cities together with current, Hall of Fame and alumni players from each of the NFL franchises as they serve over 45,000 tastings for 2,500 guests. Event goers will also enjoy live musical entertainment from celebrity artists and have the opportunity to bid on over 250 unique sports memorabilia, vacation packages and other coveted items at the event’s silent auction.

This year’s Culinary Host for the Party with a Purpose® is James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef and author Andrew Zimmern. Also helping commemorate Taste of the NFL’s milestone anniversary are three silver councils of all-star supporters. The Silver Alumni Council includes distinguished quarterbacks Archie Manning, Roger Staubach and Bart Starr; the Silver Culinary Council includes celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Emeril Lagasse; and the Silver Honorary Chair Council includes former Hall of Fame NFL coach Don Shula, actor, producer and hunger activist Jeff Bridges, former Dallas Cowboys fullback and sports commentator Daryl Johnston and former player and NFL coach Tony Dungy.

All proceeds raised by Taste of the NFL and Party with a Purpose® will be donated to local and national food banks in each of the 32 NFL cities.

Party with a Purpose is supported by a number of generous sponsors, including: E&J Gallo Winery, which has supported Taste of the NFL for the past twenty one years and will again be the official wine sponsor of the 2016 event; and Low T Centers, a third-year partner, serving as the official player host. Joining these continuing partners is PRILOSEC OTC, which is supporting both the Party with a Purpose as well as Taste of the NFL’s season-long Kick Hunger Challenge fundraising campaign through.