Iowa City Mercy Hospital Executive Chef Ron Hall was named the Iowa Restaurant Association’s 2014 Restaurant Neighbor Philanthropy Award winner. Chef Hall accepted the award at the Association’s annual awards ceremony last month at the Renaissance Savery Hotel in downtown Des Moines. Feeding Those in Need The multi-award winning chef was selected for his work with two organizations addressing food insecurity. The first, a fresh food rescue program called Table-to-Table assembles volunteers to gather and distribute food to local agencies. In 1999, Hall founded “Thanksgiving-in-July”, a now annual food drive to benefit food banks in the Iowa City and surrounding areas.  The first year his efforts collected 5 tons of food. This year, 65 tons were collected and distributed to pantries in 7 different communities. Passion for the Hungry As a child, Hall’s home was destroyed in a fire. He and his family converted a railroad boxcar into their new home with charity dollars. Hall went without for a large portion of his life, and has been dedicated to making sure no one else has to go through the same. “We live in the nation’s breadbasket,” stated Hall. “No one here should ever go hungry.” Hall’s award was presented by both the chairman of the Iowa Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors and the National Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors. Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association, commented, “Ron’s personal story made this award even more meaningful.  Our industry ‘feeds people,’ and Ron’s charitable work exemplifies our industry’s heart.”

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Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s industry with educational and promotional programs across the state. www.restaurantiowa.com Media Contacts Katelyn Kostek Public Relations Specialist Iowa Restaurant Association kkostek@restaurantiowa.com 515-276-1454