Battling hunger Decadently

COSTA MESA — To the casual observer, it looked like the essence of posh Orange County. Booths surrounded a shimmering blue pool on top of the Westin South Coast Plaza, giving out free food, drinks and T-shirts to passersby. Artists stood at the poolside and sketched in front of the crowd. A silent auction table displayed ornate baskets of food, chocolate and wine with signatures below each one.

On that same table, though, a small, propped-up poster hinted at the true meaning of Saturday night’s event. The image showed a black-and-white photo of three children with a caption reading, “In Orange County, 25% of our children suffer from hunger.”

The charity gala at the Westin, titled “Decadence 2008” and hosted by the OC Weekly, aimed to raise thousands of dollars for the Orange County Food Bank. More than 30 restaurants set up booths to give away food samples to patrons, while large cardboard bins around the grounds invited donations of canned and packaged food.

“Hunger isn’t really a big issue [to many people in Orange County], but it does happen,” said Alexandra Tran, a planner for the Community Action Partnership, which oversees the Orange County Food Bank. “I’ve worked with foster kids, and they have to argue with their staff for food. I can’t even imagine what happens in low-income families.”

Tran said her goal was to raise $4,000 for the food bank through ticket sales. Admission to Decadence 2008 was $40, although patrons who brought two canned food items got a $20 discount.

The restaurants that set up booths at the event included the Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa, El Misti in Anaheim, A Cake Shoppe and Tea Room in Los Alamitos, and Good to Go, a raw food restaurant that opened earlier this year in Huntington Beach.

Sheebaun Moran, the co-owner of Good to Go, said one of the goals of her restaurant was to give back to the community. After the OC Weekly contacted her about the fundraiser, she and her staff began doing research on hunger in Orange County and were amazed by some of their findings.

“We had my office participate in Second Harvest Food Bank, and it was amazing the number of people who are homeless or don’t have enough food,” Moran said.

Adam Gedik, a service writer from Laguna Hills, was among those donating canned food Saturday. He also said he didn’t think many people thought about hunger in Orange County, but imagined his contribution would find an eager recipient quickly.

“I’m hoping it’s going to get donated to someone who is thinking about hunger,” Gedik said.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].