Something really amazing is happening this fall! We’re super excited to help FEED kickoff its second annual FEED Supper campaign: it’s a global grassroots dinner party series that happens between 9/16 – 10/16 with the goal of raising 2 million meals to feed people in need both in America and around the world. And you’re invited to get involved! It’s super easy to host a Supper: it’s really all about coming together with the people you love to celebrate the act of sharing a meal, whether at your home, favorite restaurant, company, church or school. The more people who host, the more people we can feed together. Host sign up opens on August 20th on Feedprojects.com. From there, hosts can invite their guests to make a donation to help FEED reach this year’s goal by World Food Day, and today we’re sharing all the details from our Supper to hopefully inspire you to host one of your own! We teamed up with our friends at Josephine House for a late-summer family style Supper served straight from the grill. Click through for all the details, and check back later in August (and sign up for FEED’s newsletter to be the first to know when host sign up opens!
*photos by kate lesueur; flowers by bricolage, food/service/location by Josephine House, place card illustrations by kelly colchin.
Our theme for the Supper was Texas Farmers’ Market, and the beautiful summer setting on the patio at Josephine House made it feel like a true celebration of the season. Their incredible team and farm-to-table driven food made the evening magical.
For any of y’all throwing your own Supper, check out the FEED Supper toolkits to make the decor easy! They come with placemats, name cards, thank you notes for guests and a Supper banner, to remind guests why they’ve gathered. Chanel strings together the garland from the limited-edition Indigo toolkit, created especially for this year (available on feedprojects.com starting 8/20).
My friend Samantha from Bricolage Curated Florals created the gorgeous Texas wildflower-inspired centerpieces. Doesn’t just looking at this sunny bunch of sunflowers make you smile?
The garland that came in our FEED Supper toolkit made the perfect welcome sign attached to Josephine House’s vintage pickup parked out front.
One of my best gals Kim — I asked guests to wear their Texas denim and boots or their best South-of-the-border looks.
Josephine House’s assistant bev director Daisy created this cocktail for the occasion that’s one of my new faves (and was so popular that it made it onto the menu after our party!) Watermelon, tequila and basil came together for the perfect garden-inspired drink — chili peppers gave it a kick (we are in Texas, after all!)
Guests showed up before dusk and mingled with cocktails. It was so special to bring together so many of my good friends, some who knew each other and some who were meeting for the first time.
Ryan is the creative director of Mcguire Moorman Hospitality Group that owns Josephine House (and lots of other incredible spots in town.) His wife Kelti Smith is a talented artist and one of my favorite Austin ladies.
Nothing feels more summery than cooking on an open flame, and Josephine House fired up the big grill for this Beeman Ranch beef tenderloin served with an avocado chimichurri The cook wore an apron from the soon-to-launch Ryan Smith + ByGeorge capsule collection of entertaining/hospitality goods.
Hungry guests grazed on burrata toasts with serrano honey and deviled eggs with pickled ramps — summer Texas flavors at their finest.
June chose a few great Texas wines in keeping with the local vibe, and a casual self-serve bar meant that everyone could refill their drinks throughout the night.
The mouthwatering menu… take me back!
Elizabeth, who works for SXSW, sips a watermelon-tequila cocktail.
Luckily all of us Austinites are used to the heat… the hot temps just meant that another ice cold cocktail was in order.
Love the watercolor effect on the placemats that came in our FEED Supper toolkit. It made the gorgeous place setting a breeze!
A summertime party in Austin isn’t complete until you’ve got some Lone Stars on ice!
When the flowers and the food are this colorful, a simple palette of white plates against a white table shows them off best.
One of my (gorgeous) besties Anne is ready for her Supper.
Passing around the food on family style platters felt like a real celebration of the season’s abundance. There was something so meaningful about everyone coming together to truly share a meal — and knowing that it was helping feed people in need around the world.
OMG that corn!! The sweetest corn on the cob was slathered with Texas goat cheese, aleppo pepper and lime zest for an addictive combination. No one even cared how messy their hands and face got — it was so worth it.
Kelti, Jenn and our new intern Morgan sample the menu.
Who’s that total babe, you may be wondering? I know, I know, you guys don’t see many glimpses of my Adam here on the blog, but there was no way he was missing out on this party.
Not sure if that was my second refill or my third, but thankfully at this gathering, no one was counting.
Cheers to an unforgettable evening and an amazing cause! Our media director Kelly raises a glass with her hubby Jonathan who is a geologist, musician, and my favorite guy with a moustache ever.
As it got dark and the café lights twinkled overhead, the party achieved that magical pitch with the sounds of glasses clinking, music playing and most of all, laughter.
Just when I thought I couldn’t eat another bite, the Josephine House team brought out trays of freshly baked peach melba pie with Texas blackberry ice cream. We dug in and embraced sticky fingers and faces, savoring the best flavors of summer.
Jenn created these pledge cards that we passed around to guests so they could make a donation commitment of the number of meals they’d like to give. Can you believe that just $1.10 provides 10 meals to people in need? It’s inspiring that such a small amount can make a big impact.
Use our templates to create your own pledge cards: download the individual pledge cards here and print our card holder template onto brown card stock to create the decorative envelope.
It was an unforgettable evening surrounded by so many good friends, and I’m thrilled that we’re able to be part of launching this year’s Supper campaign with FEED. Don’t forget to hop over to feedprojects.com to find out more and sign up to host your own Supper starting on August 20th!
Huge thanks to our amazing partners on this event: Josephine House, Kate LeSueur, & Bricolage... we couldn’t have done it without you guys!
