“Dine with purpose.” It’s the motto of Southwest Florida’s premier culinary event of the year, and a call to action for folks near and far to try something new for the benefit of local children.

Sizzle Dining, now a three-week-long dining extravaganza in September that features a record-breaking 114 restaurants representing Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties, began in 2016.

Year after year, Sizzle has grown substantially. Participating restaurants create prix-fixe menus comprised of regular menu favorites or entirely new mouthwatering dishes that showcase the creativity and culinary genius of local Southwest Florida chefs and restauranteurs.

Diners can participate in the Sizzle Dining excitement for lunch, dinner, or new this year, pop-up brunches. Tradition-ally, restaurants offer the Sizzle menu for dinner or for both lunch and dinner. This year, a few restaurants are offering a Sizzle lunch menu only. The complete list of restaurants and menus are laid out at SizzleDining.com, in addition to the three easy steps to participate.

One constant is the impact that people can make by participating in Sizzle Dining 2024. One dollar from each meal purchased from a Sizzle menu will be donated to Blessings in a Backpack of Southwest Florida. Over the past three years, Sizzle Dining’s participating restaurants have raised $91,000 for Blessings in a Backpack of Southwest Florida. Blessings in a Backpack uses these dollars to fill backpacks with nutritious food for food-insecure elementary school students to eat over the weekend when school-provided meals are unavailable. Over the past three years, Sizzle Dining has helped more than 700 local children by ensuring 25,000 hunger-free weekends — that’s more than 100,000 meals.”

“When you hear ‘Southwest Florida,’ many people think wealth and luxurious lifestyles,” said Cecilia St. Arnold, executive director of Blessings in a Backpack of Southwest Florida. “However, one in six children in Southwest Florida are deemed ‘food insecure.'”

According to Blessings in a Backpack, children that are well fed have better test scores, behavior, reading skills and attendance rates.

When their bellies are full, their brains are ready to learn. By simply going out to eat, diners can make a real impact within the community, and it’s not just local students that benefit from Sizzle Dining.

September is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year in Southwest Florida. It’s a period of time when summer vacations have come to an end and seasonal residents aren’t quite ready to head back down south. The restaurant industry suffers from low dining traffic and revenue, but those participating in Sizzle report the opposite.

“Last year was our first time participating in Sizzle Dining and we had the best September we’ve had in years,” said Jamie Stalowski, owner of La Fontanella Ristorante in Bonita Springs and Fort Myers and Blanc in Fort Myers. “This year, all three of our restaurants are participating in Sizzle.”

All diners need to do is go online, browse the list of restaurants, make a reservation and enjoy. It’s also a great opportunity to try a new restaurant and have some fun.

In addition to lunch and dinner, for the first time in Sizzle history, six themed pop-up brunch events are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday at six different restaurants.

From an English Tea Party themed brunch to a bottomless sangria Italian brunch, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

To learn more and to find a list of participating restaurants and events, visit SizzleDining.com.

Guy and Erin Clarke are the founders and organizers of Sizzle Dining.