PLATES & PLAYMAKERS · THE CAUSE
OUR IMPACT
Where your ticket goes · Who it reaches · Why it matters
PLATES & PLAYMAKERS · THE CAUSE
Where your ticket goes · Who it reaches · Why it matters
THE 2025 TOUR
Relive the moments that made it unforgettable.
It started in 1992 as Taste of the NFL — the premier charity event of Super Bowl weekend, put on by the team at Hunger Related Events. Over three decades, the tour expanded into Taste of the Masters, Taste of the Derby, and a roster of other signature events around the country — generating over 100 million meals for families in need along the way.
Plates & Playmakers is the next chapter — and it's more focused on Minnesota than ever. After three decades of events around the country, we're channeling that energy into one unforgettable Minneapolis night that brings together the best Minnesota has to offer: our great chefs, our beloved athletes, and our most generous neighbors, all in service of the food shelves and families that need us most.
Events are organized by Hunger Related Events — the 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose archive of past events shows just how far this work has come.
Plates & Playmakers supports a coalition tackling hunger across Minnesota — three remarkable food bank partners doing essential work in bulk supply, neighborhood food shelves, and rapid-response meal distribution. We also stand behind the people who feed us through The Salt Cure Fund, providing direct support to the culinary industry in times of crisis.
Every Meal fights child hunger in Minnesota by providing weekend food bags and meals to kids who might otherwise go without. Their programs reach children across the metro directly through school and community partnerships, ensuring no child faces the week on an empty stomach.
VISIT EVERYMEAL.ORG →The ICA Food Shelf has served the western suburbs of Minneapolis for decades, providing groceries, produce, and essential household items to neighbors in need. Their neighborhood-rooted model means people can access real food — with dignity — close to home.
VISIT ICAFOODSHELF.ORG →The Food Group is the backbone of food shelf support across Minnesota. They connect and strengthen the state's network of food shelves, run rapid emergency response, distribute culturally-relevant fresh produce, and advocate for the policies that address the root causes of hunger.
VISIT THEFOODGROUPMN.ORG →The Salt Cure Fund provides direct financial assistance to the culinary industry — the small independent restaurants and their cooks, servers, dishwashers, and kitchen staff who power Minnesota's food culture — in times of crisis. Because the people who make great food deserve to be cared for too.
VISIT THESALTCUREFUND.ORG →Every table at Plates & Playmakers is an act of generosity — and a direct extension of the 100+ million meals this community has helped create over more than three decades. Your supporting sponsor table helps tackle hunger across Minnesota — strengthening the food shelves, kids' meal programs, and emergency response systems that keep our state fed.
One night. One mission. Real impact across Minnesota.
BUY A TABLEIt started in 1992 as Taste of the NFL — the premier charity event of Super Bowl weekend, put on by the team at Hunger Related Events (501(c)(3)). Over three decades, the team expanded into Taste of the Master Chefs, Taste of the Derby, Taste Fore the Tour and a roster of other signature events around the country — generating more than 100 million meals along the way. The spirit has grown. Plates & Playmakers is the next chapter, focused squarely on Minnesota: bringing the best chefs and athletes this state has to offer together for one unforgettable night, all in service of bringing dollars and awareness for the fight against hunger across the state.
SEE PAST EVENTS →Our primary mission is hunger relief across Minnesota. But we also recognize the people who feed us — locally owned restaurants with cooks, servers, dishwashers, and kitchen workers who power this state's food culture and often face their own crises with little safety net beneath them.
Plates & Playmakers also stands alongside The Salt Cure Fund, which provides direct financial assistance to the culinary industry in times of crisis, as an act of preservation for our food scene and the people who make it great.
LEARN MORE AT THESALTCUREFUND.ORG →