San Francisco, California - March 6, 2000—Five leading members of the Bay Area restaurant community were honored for their outstanding commitment to helping the most vulnerable residents of San Francisco. The honorees were announced at an industry conference, Restaurant Marketing 2000, held at the Hotel Nikko on February 28, 2000. The conference was organized by Susie Biehler & Co., a San Francisco-based public relations and marketing consultant firm, who created and co-sponsored the awards with the San Francisco Food Bank.

The award recipients were:

CHEF JAN BIRNBAUM of Catahoula Restaurant and Saloon (located in Calistoga). Birnbaum received a lifetime achievement award for helping home-bound senior citizens through his support of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco. More than 10 years ago, Birnbaum founded a celebrity chef event that has continued to raise more than $2 million for food, nutrition counseling, and social work services for seniors. He maintains his role as organizer of this annual event while visiting clients, delivering meals, and appearing on television and radio on behalf of Meals on Wheels.

MANAGING PARTNER JOHN CUNIN of the Cypress Club. Cunin received a lifetime achievement award for helping people with developmental disabilities through his support of the Arc San Francisco. He has been involved with the Arc for more than 11 years, serving on the board of directors, as chairman of its prestigious Council of Advisors, and as a contributor to numerous fund-raising events. Through his efforts, Cunin has enabled the Arc to create programs and activities that have helped thousands of developmentally disabled men and women live as independently as possible.

CHEF/OWNER ROLAND PASSOT of La Folie and Left Bank. Passot was recognized for the depth and breadth of his commitment to helping people in need during 1999. A short list of the organizations to which he contributed his expertise and resources includes Food Runners, Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, Project Open Hand, and the San Francisco Food Bank. “Roland Passot’s generosity is legendary,” said award presenter, Mary Risley. “He knows the comfort and the joy food brings into people’s lives. Our community is fortunate for his willingness to share so freely and in so many ways.”

CHEF ROBERT HELSTROM of Kuleto’s Italian Restaurant. Helstrom was recognized for his focused commitment to feeding the hungry in 1999. Helstrom served on the local steering committee of Taste of the Nation (a food- and wine-tasting event that benefits several community food providers); donated food daily to Food Runners; and launched two fund-raising events that benefit the San Francisco Food Bank. His efforts have resulted in thousands of nutritious meals for low-income families, seniors, and children.

RESTAURANT OWNER SYLVIE LE MER of Ti Couz. Le Mer received the “Unsung Hero Award”, given to the restaurant owner, manager, or other personnel who quietly and without acknowledgement demonstrated an outstanding commitment towards a social cause. Le Mer was recognized for her progressive employee practices, which emphasize equal opportunity and training for all employees, and for the creation of an employee-designed, not-for-profit organization called Hungry for Solutions. Through this organization, Le Mer and the staff of Ti Couz have created and supported programs that provide sustainable social and environmental solutions to the food and restaurant industry (including the 16th Street Block Party and Dine for Justice).
In receiving her award, Le Mer echoed the sentiments of the other recipients: “I believe that we are judged not by what we accumulate, but by what we distribute and how we participate.”
The award recipients were nominated by their peers and the non-profit community. They were selected by a panel of food professionals and non-profit leaders, including: Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco Food Bank; Narsai David, editor KCBS "Food and Wine"; Charis Denison, board president of the Haight Ashbury Food Program; Frank Everett, co-owner of JohnFrank Restaurant; restaurant and food consultant/writer Joyce Goldstein; Susie McCormick, publisher of Where Magazine, San Francisco; John Power, director of corporate services at the Volunteer Center of San Francisco; and Mary Risley, founder of Food Runners and director of Tante Marie's Cooking School.

About the San Francisco Food Bank: 
Despite the booming economy, there are more than 90, 000 people living with the threat of hunger in San Francisco. The San Francisco Food Bank's mission is to end hunger. We work with national and local food producers to secure edible, but non-marketable, groceries into a consistent supply of food for hungry people in San Francisco. We solicit, allocate, and distribute approximately 12 million pounds of food through a network of more than 400 human service agencies including soup kitchens, AIDS support programs, food pantries, shelters, senior programs, outreach and treatment programs, congregations, and child care centers. Every day, up to 28,000 meals are served with food from our warehouse. For more information on the San Francisco Food Bank, call 800.870.FOOD or visit our website at www.sffoodbank.org.