Dine for Darfur tonight

It's not often we think about genocide during dinner, but tonight at nearly 82 restaurants throughout Oregon, it's going to be on everyone's mind—or at least on their bill. Today (and tonight), 25 percent of your dinner bill is going to Mercy Corps to help raise money for Darfur relief efforts. Chow Foods—a coalition of Seattle neighborhood restaurants—hosted the Dine for Darfur night last year in Seattle and raised over $70,000 in one night. Now Portland is joining-in and including some local sponsors such as Mount Hood Beverage—which hooked the BridgePort Brewery and Alehouse into Dine for Darfur. Bob Negele, BridgePort's director of pub operations, says the restaurant-brewery is always eager to support humanitarian causes and has worked with many local charities in the past.
“But this is our first reach into an international issue, and I can't think of a better program that more meaningful than this one,” he says. On average, Negele says BridgePort gets about $7,000-$12,000 in revenue from its diners—that could mean up to $3,000 towards Darfur. So order some extra appetizers and dessert tonight—you'll feel real good later.