Make Your Dinner Matter on April 30, During Dining Out for Life

Whether dining out is a daily occurrence or a special occasion, a little planning ahead will guarantee that a portion of your dining dollars goes to a worthy cause this month. April 30 is Dining Out for Life night in Denver, which means that if you hit one of 250 participating restaurants in the metro area, a portion of your bill will go toward Project Angel Heart, an organization that provides meals for people coping with life-threatening illnesses. 

Participating restaurants will donate 25 percent of their food sales that night, so if you've been thinking about a big night out, this is the perfect opportunity. Last year Denver and Boulder diners made it possible for restaurants to raise $323,000 for home-delivered meals prepared with specific dietary needs in mind. 

This is the largest fundraiser of the year for Project Angel Heart, according to president and CEO Erin Puling, and the organization hopes that this one will be the most successful ever. So whether it's as simple as stopping in for a bagel at one of this year's new participants, Rosenberg's Bagels & Delicatessen, indulging in oysters and cocktails at Stoic & Genuine or settling in for a mutli-course dinner at Lower48 Kitchen, every meal adds up. Other new participants this year include Leña, Brazen and Block & Larder. Of course, with more than 225 returning restaurants, there are plenty to choose from. 

Project Angel Heart provides weekly deliveries of meals to more than 3,000 recipients in the metro area and Colorado Springs. Deliveries are tailored to each recipient's dietary needs, whether they're living with kidney disease, diabetes, AIDS/HIV or cancer. Executive chef Jon Emanuel oversees weekly menus that offer variety, creativity and flavor, whether through standard meals or dishes geared toward low-fat and low-sodium diets, renal or diabetic diets, or seasoning- and sauce-free preparations for those who can handle only the most basic of foods. Far from standard hospital fare, the meals are nutritionally balanced and individualized — a personalized birthday cake might be included in a weekly delivery or a specific allergy taken into account. Regular entrees run from coconut beef curry with garbanzo beans to Chinese-style baked fish.

So while you're dining out at one of Denver's many excellent restaurants on April 30, you'll also be helping someone else enjoy a chef-inspired meal in their own home. Read more about the program on Project Angel Heart's website.

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