Blue Jeans Ball!
Sunday was the Blue Jeans Ball, supporting the Capital Area Food Bank, at the Marriott Marquis hotel. Here, Capital Area Food Bank CEO Nancy Roman is flanked by co-chairs Valerie Ploumpis and Julie Coons.
The event raised $400K, enough to provide 1 million meals to those in need around metropolitan Washington. Guests enjoyed more than 40 savory and sweet bites from restaurants such as Colada Shop, Arroz by Mike Isabella, Pub and the People; specialty cocktails from mixology chair Gina Chersevani of Buffalo & Bergen and kampachi crudo with uni botarga and leche de tigre mousse from chef chair Ryan Ratino of Ripple. Here, participating chefs joined Ryan Ratino (far left).
Attendees, who wore their most fashionable denim, also enjoyed New Orleans-style band Dupont Brass and unique bottles from outstanding distilleries, which offered a special “Spirits Pull,” where a $50 donation provided guests the chance to take home a bottle of prized liquor. Auction items included one week’s stay at an 18th century farmhouse in Umbria, Italy; a tour for 20 of BrightFarms’ hydroponic greenhouse; a seven-day trip to Austin, Texas; and tickets to the 117th U.S. Open golf tournament. Here, event committee members: Council of Better Business Bureaus' Julie Coons, Equality California's Valerie Ploumpis, The JLC Team/Compass Real Estate's Libby Clarke and Trust for the National Mall's Catherine Townsend.
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the Washington metro area working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease and obesity. By partnering with nearly 450 community organizations in DC, Maryland and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly in hard-to-reach areas, the CAFB is helping 540,000 people each year get access to good, healthy food. Here, Ryan Ratino, Nancy Roman and Capital Area Food Bank board chair Peter Schnall.
