(This is a Sponsored Post)

Let’s be honest, what do you tell your friends or family when they ask you why you live in south Seattle? You tell them it’s diverse, you love the sense of community, and the people are friendly compared to the rest of Seattle. Maybe this is what you tell them when you’re not feeling cynical. And you’re right, this is what makes our neighborhood great!

This Tuesday the Rainier Valley Food Bank is offering an opportunity to experience all of this in one night. They are hosting Chow Down, described as a “one day culinary tour of Columbia City and Hillman City”. The event sells tickets, or “passports” as they call them, for $50 each. They include options to enjoy a sample at 19 participating restaurants and bars in the neighborhood. One resident once described the food scene down here by saying “spin the globe and throw down your finger, that country’s cuisine is only five blocks down the road.” Chow Down definitely tries to offer this with restaurants that include Caribbean, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, British, Peruvian and Thai foods as only a sample of the full list.

Let’s not forget the main reason this event is being thrown. People in our zip code and surrounding zip codes are going hungry. The causes are extensive to things we wish we could fix, like housing and the cost of health care, to things that are easier to turn away from like substance abuse and mental health. The staff and volunteers at the Rainier Valley Food Bank face these issues head on every week. Here’s your chance to support their work and what you love about the place you call home.

The event is Tuesday, July 28th from 5:00pm until 9:00pm. Tickets (or passports) are on sale at http://ow.ly/Qa5jk or at the check in table in front of Andaluz (4908 Rainier Ave S) prior to and during the event.