The top vote-getters in Starkville Restaurant Week’s charity nomination process are Backpack Buddies, Vets for Vets and Grassroots Animal Rescue, the Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Thursday.
The three organizations will vie for $5,000, $1,000 and $500 donations during the March 28-April 3 event.
Charity nominations for this year’s event shattered 2014’s record, as SCVB collected 1,001 nominations, not excluding duplicates. In 2015, the group received 449 nominations, a figure that was 19 submissions lower than 2014’s record-setting year.
Officials with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, the group that oversees the SCVB, are hopeful increased interest in this year’s nomination period will translate to more diners visiting Starkville restaurants.
“We were blown away at the number of nominations this year, and we couldn’t be more excited about the top three charities. It takes a considerable effort to make the top three, so we really appreciate the mobilization of supporters by these three groups,” said GSDP Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Gregory. “We look forward to promoting them and shining a light on the great work they do over the next few weeks.”
Backpack Buddies was established by First United Methodist Church and sends meals home to needy schoolchildren. Other local organizations, including the Junior Auxiliary and Starkville Church of Christ, have helped fund the effort in the past.
Vets for Vets is a program that provides physical therapy and other rehabilitation services for military service animals through Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Grassroots Animal Rescue is an all-volunteer, foster-based rescue service in Starkville that serves north Mississippi and surrounding areas. The non-profit works with animal shelters and communities to rescue dogs in danger of being euthanized or are in need.
The Partnership launched SRW in 2013 as a way to show off the city’s blossoming culinary scene and stimulate the local economy during the week after MSU’s spring break, a historically sluggish week in terms of retail and restaurant sales.
Diners who eat entrees at participating restaurants are given ballots for voting in the event’s charity aspect.
Those ballots are used to determine SRW attendance, track its advertising effectiveness through entries for zip codes detailing from where customers come and grow the Partnership’s advertising databases by collecting email addresses.
Last year, MSU’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic won the contest, beating out Starkville Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army.
Previous winners also include MSU’s T.K. Martin Center for Technology and the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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