In 2018, Food for Tots became the first major fundraiser of the Friends of Jack Foundation. What began as a partnership among the Friends of Jack Foundation, Fun 107, WBSM and local restaurants quickly grew into something much bigger: a community-wide effort to support children and families throughout the South Coast.

The concept was simple. Once a month, participating restaurants would donate a portion of their sales to the Friends of Jack Foundation, and the community would show its support by going out to eat. But the impact was anything but small.

In its first year alone, Food for Tots raised $83,000. Over the years, almost 50 different restaurants across the South Coast participated, helping the event raise more than $250,000. Those funds allowed Friends of Jack to expand programs that bring comfort, support and dignity to children facing medical challenges.

None of that would have been possible without our restaurant partners.

Restaurants are asked to support countless causes every year. They operate on narrow margins, manage rising costs and continually face challenges that most customers never see. Even so, restaurant owners and their teams repeatedly opened their doors to Food for Tots. They donated a portion of their sales, promoted the event, welcomed crowds of supporters and gave their employees another reason to take pride in the places where they worked.

Some restaurants participated once. Others returned year after year. Every one of them played an important role in the story of Food for Tots.

We are equally grateful to the hundreds of people who supported the event by dining at participating restaurants. Families gathered for dinner. Friends met for lunch. Coworkers ordered takeout. Many people rearranged their plans simply to make sure they visited a featured restaurant on its Food for Tots day.

Every meal mattered.

Food for Tots demonstrated that supporting children in our community did not always require a large donation or an elaborate gesture. Sometimes, it was as simple as choosing where to eat. When enough people made that choice together, the results were extraordinary.

We also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Michael Rock and the entire Fun 107 team. Fun 107 was much more than a media sponsor. The station helped build Food for Tots, rallied the community behind it and gave the event a voice that reached across the South Coast. Its enthusiasm and commitment were essential to the event’s success.

After careful consideration, Friends of Jack made the difficult decision to discontinue Food for Tots in 2026.

The restaurant industry has changed considerably since the event began. The pandemic created lasting financial, staffing and operational challenges, while food and labor costs have continued to rise. At the same time, restaurants are receiving more requests than ever to support charitable events and community causes.

We never wanted Food for Tots to become a burden for the businesses that had been so generous to us. We also recognized that the event model was no longer as distinctive as it once was, with many similar fundraisers now taking place throughout the region. We believed it was time to step back, celebrate what Food for Tots accomplished and begin exploring new ways to bring our community together.

This decision does not diminish the event’s importance. Food for Tots will always hold a special place in the history of Friends of Jack. It helped introduce our mission to the South Coast, created relationships that continue today and provided critical support as our programs grew.

Most importantly, it proved what this community is capable of accomplishing when businesses, media partners and local families unite behind a shared purpose.

To every restaurant owner, manager, chef, server, bartender and staff member who helped make Food for Tots possible: Thank you.

To Michael Rock, Fun 107 and WBSM: Thank you for believing in the event and using your platforms to inspire the community.

And to every person who went out for breakfast, lunch or dinner, ordered takeout, invited friends or simply helped spread the word: Thank you for showing up.

Food for Tots may be ending, but the generosity and community spirit it created will continue to shape the work of Friends of Jack for years to come.

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