By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Celebrity chefs from some of the city's glitziest eateries will come together next Monday to raise money for people with some of New York's tightest food budgets.
Chelsea's Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, one of the country's pioneering HIV/AIDS advocacy, care and prevention organizations, is hosting its annual "Savor" culinary fundraiser next Monday evening, March 7, at the Gotham Hall at 1356 Broadway.
Attendees at "Savor," for which tickets run $1,000 a head, will receive a four-course meal prepared by Peter Hoffman of Savoy, Stephen Lewandowski of Tribeca Grill, Carmen Quagliata of Union Square Café and Francois Payard of the eponymous bakery.
Organizers want to increase awareness and raise funds for programs including nutrition counseling, a food pantry and daily hot lunches, of which GMHC serves 100,000 per year.
This year, this event comes at a time when GMHC leaders have been warning about cuts to social services in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's preliminary budget that will likely hurt the nutrition needs of those living with with HIV/AIDS.
One man living with AIDS, Jim Lister, 56, told DNAinfo last summer that he attends those daily lunches "come rain, shine, sun or sleet" in part because they help him make ends meet as he lives on disability payments.
Each year, GMHC serves about 10,000 clients from around the city. In April, the center will move from its longtime West 24th Street space to a new facility at 446 West 33rd St.
GMHC is expecting more than 500 guests at the event, which will also honor philanthropist and activist Joan Tisch and feature an auction of travel and culinary packages. Food Network star Ted Allen will host.
