It was a community of food enthusiasts, coming together on social media to share favorite recipes, give restaurant reviews, and provide an avenue for food related self-promotion on Work It Wednesdays. Enter Admin Metta Archilla-Ishida, who not only lives and breathes anything food-related, but is also a talented chef and entrepreneur, food blogger/ photographer, and is married to Chef Elias. With a heart for “food, fellowship and community,” Metta jumped in to assist Cy-Fair Helping Hands in serving the homeless and hungry in Cy-Fair.
“We were so proud of our 1st Annual Bash Out Hunger initiative in 2018. We held a peanut butter and jelly drive and collected 800 pounds of food and $700 in donations! Last year’s event was much bigger; we were able to fill Cy-Fair Helping Hands’ pantry shelves with more than 4,200 pounds of non-perishables and around $4,000 in donations,” shares Archilla gleefully.
Fast forward to 2020. Led by the lady herself, Metta’s Local Eats Dine Out for Charity’s Executive Committee, (Lisa Johnson, Nancy Eugenio, Keri Holloway, Vannessa Henley, and Ashley Clarabut), developed a plan which would ultimately involve 42 restaurants, local artesian shops and a cast of businesses in a collaborative effort to better serve the community. Each participating restaurant and food-related enterprise selected an item or two from their menu, and set a donation amount for each item sold during the months of October through December.
“A big shout out to our supportive community of Cypress area patrons, along with participating restaurants and vendors of culinary treats and their generous sponsors. In October, Metta’s Local Eats Dine Out for Charity 2020 Event raised over $7,500 for Cy-Fair Helping Hands. The November numbers came in at over $9,000…that’s over $16,800 in the first two months, comments Metta, happily. The final numbers for December were tabulated and revealed at the Metta’s Local Eats Dine Out for Charity awards presentation recognizing the top restaurants and cottage bakers on Thursday, January 14, 2021. Total donation numbers topped the $27,000 mark. “We are excited to note that 90% of our participants are committed to joining us in April, for the second quarter of MLE’s Dine Out for Charity,” reports Archilla.
“In these very difficult times, food and funds for our Homeless Initiatives and Community Outreach programs are crucial,” reports Patricia Hudson, Executive Director of Community Outreach, Cy-Fair Helping Hands. “Jean Dreyer (Founder and Executive Director of Homeless Initiatives) and I are so very grateful for MLE and this giving community!”
Award Recipients for Top Sales include:
Overall:
First Place: Duck N Bao
Second place: Andy’s Kitchen
Third place: Land of a Thousand Hills
Coffee & Bakery
Artisan Bakeries:
First place: Jersey Bagels
Second place: Cake Fine Pastry
Third place: Alchemy Bake Lab
Most Sponsors: Andy’s Kitchen
Multiple Location Participation:
The Union Kitchen – Boardwalk Towne Lake
The Union Kitchen – Katy
Participating Restaurants
and Artisans
1101 Southern Kitchen
2 Guys 1 Pit
Adriatic Café Italian Grill
Alchemy Bake Lab
Ambriza Boardwalk Cypress
Ambriza Mexican Kitchen Vintage
Andy’s Kitchen Cypress
The Backyard Grill
Brooks’ Place, LLC
Cake Fine Pastry
Captain Brad’s Coastal Kitchen
Center Court Pizza & Brew Vintage Park
Charlie D’s Pizza
CookieGram
Copper Kettle Chocolate Factory
Creekwood Grill
Cupcake Cowgirls Bakery
Dinner Winners
Duck n’ Bao
Giannina’s Pizza & Catering
Hanan’s Café
Jersey Bagels
The Kaffe Spot
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee & Bakery
Nyam Nyam Café
Pho Houston Copperfield
Plum Coffee Shop
Rita’s Cantina Mexican Kitchen
Rockwell Grill
Sizzle & Brew
Suzybeez Bakery
Tacoland Mex Mex
Union Kitchen Boardwalk Towne Lake
Union Kitchen Katy
Vival Restaurant
Yokohamaya Japanese Restaurant
Business Sponsors:
Lisa Benoit, Abby Realty (Graphics)
Cindy Boutwell, Boutwell Properties
Energy Capital Credit Union
Craig Hoffman Righteous Cause Band
Scott Realty Group
David Canale, State Farm
