The San Antonio Food Bank’s Champions against Hunger came back Friday after three years.
The exclusive dinner hosted by San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich featured the players and coaches serving a gourmet four-course meal to 200 guests.
The tickets sold for $1,000 per guest and sold out quickly. All the proceeds from the event went directly to the San Antonio Food Bank to provide more than 1 million meals throughout Southwest Texas.
Eric Cooper, CEO of San Antonio Food Bank, said they couldn’t be more honored to work with Popovich to bring this event to life.
“Every dollar counts; every dollar to us is seven meals, it’s ten pounds of food,” Cooper said. “People like to give in different ways, and this is just a super fun way to help the Food Bank that I think everyone at the end of the night feels special.”
The players and coaches' engagement with guests created an intimate atmosphere and highlighted how the Spurs support the San Antonio community.
"It’s great for our city, and it’s great seeing so many people wanting to give,” Popovich said. “No matter who's on our team, no matter who's been here over the years, they love doing this.”
Popovich said this event is one of the few where all the players are in one place, and for all of them to meet all the people is good for them.
The event was hosted at The Victory Capital Performance Center, part of the new Spurs campus at the Rock at La Cantera on Friday night. The four-course dinner with wine pairing was curated by local San Antonio Chef Jason Dady and Chef Steve McHugh.
“We collaborated together, we came up with this menu,” said Tony Domingue, executive chef at the Grove at La Cantera. “I love cooking. I love playing with food. Really, it’s what I do.”
Dady is a Texas native who owns restaurants across the city, including Jardin, which is located at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, and Two Bros BBQ Market.
McHugh is already partnered with the Spurs through his culinary program at The Spurs Club.
The evening brought San Antonians face-to-face with their favorite players.
“All the years of the Spurs involved in the Food Bank, from Timmy to Manu to Victor — that’s a legacy,” Cooper said. “We can do something to make sure kids don’t go hungry.”
Gabriella Alcorta is a health reporting intern for Texas Public Radio in collaboration with Texas Community Health News through Texas State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communcation and the university’s Translational Health Research Center.
