Celeb chefs join virtual storytelling event
Notable chefs Rocco DiSpirito, Maneet Chauhan, Claudette Zepeda, Aaron May and others will share personal stories about food on Thursday to drive donations to help hungry Americans.
It’s part of the USA TODAY Network’s Storytellers Project’s “LIVE, in Your Home” virtual storytelling show benefiting Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
Also part of the lineup: Washington, DC-based chef Edward Lee and Rosemary Pellet, of Waverly, New York, who will share a personal story about helping neighbors in need after facing food insecurity herself.
The chefs, most of whom are authors, TV stars and proprietors of multiple restaurants, will be sharing stories about
the people and dishes that helped define their passion for food.
Feeding America is facing unprecedented needs as unemployment has reached record numbers and schools have closed early, leaving more meals for families to provide at home.
The nonprofit has responded by creating a Coronavirus Response Fund and building an inventory of emergency food boxes to distribute to food banks across the country, as well as emergency grants for food banks to support local response efforts.
“As a chef, food is a personal story for me,” Chauhan, an Indian American chef frequently featured on Food Network shows, said. “It’s important that people are nourished because food is the language that speaks to the soul.”
May and his restaurants have appeared on the Food Network and The Learning Channel frequently.
“I’m lucky enough to live my life because of what food and feeding people has provided for me, so food and feeding people seems like the most obvious way I can give back,” May said.
The show will air on USA TODAY Network websites and social channels, including Storytellers Project’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT.
You can watch the Storytellers Project’s latest virtual shows on usatoday. com.