Ballard Food Bank receives funds from winemakers and local restaurants

Sozo Friends and local restaurants are raising money for the Ballard Food Bank through sales of glasses and bottles of Sozo’s wine. Participating restaurants are Aster Coffee Lounge, Bastille Cafe & Bar, Mondello, Queen Margherita Pizza, Ray’s Boathouse, and Volterra Restaurant.

Sozo Friends partners with hunger-relief organizations, and every Sozo product consumed provides anywhere from 1-25 meals for orphans, widows, and homeless who lack basic needs. The number of meals provided is listed on the label of every bottle of Sozo wine.

Photo courtesy of Kirsten Graham

Monte Regier with Sozo Friends says they have three levels of fundraising for wine sales: the “5s,” “10s,” and “25s.” The “5s” are the Humanity Reisling and Contribute Cabernet; sales from those bottles give five meals to the Food Bank. The “10s” are the Abundant Mouvedre/Syrah Blend, the Generosity Tempranillo/Syrah, and Potential Pinot Noir; sales from those give 10 meals. The “25s” includes just one bottle, the Bountiful Bordeaux, which contributes 25 meals to the Food Bank, according to Regier.

Regier says each restaurant raises on average about $50 a week for the Food Bank. “Mondello and Queen Margherita Pizza have a little competition going on to see who can raise the most,” Regier said. “It really adds up.”