Lower Cape Outreach Council Celebrates Four Decades With Chef-Themed Event

CHATHAM – The Lower Cape Outreach Council has been addressing food insecurity in the Cape’s outer reaches for 40 years, and a few local chefs are cooking up something special to help the nonprofit celebrate the milestone.

A chef’s challenge will be featured as part of tonight’s kickoff event celebrating the council’s 40 years. The sold out event will be held at Pate’s Restaurant.

Chefs Christian Schultz, Julio Lazzarini and Chevaun Goulborne will prepare plates for a panel of three judges including Larry Egan of Edible Cape Cod, Gwen Friss of the Cape Cod Times and John Krongrad from radio station 102.3 The Dunes.

But there’s a catch. Each chef must prepare their dish using ingredients from one of the council’s emergency food pantries. They’ll each also be given a $20 stipend to spend on other ingredients.

“We wanted to do an event that sort of spoke to one of our main programs, which is obviously the food pantries,” said Katie Wibby, the council’s CEO.

Schultz owned and operated his own restaurant, Christian’s, for 17 years. He’s also been a chef at the Academy Ocean Grille, L’Alouette and Red River Barbecue.

Lazzarini is the head chef at Navillus, which opened its doors in the space formerly occupied by Guapo’s in the Staples plaza earlier this year. He’s also appeared as a contestant on the Food Network shows “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Chopped.” Goulbourne is the executive sous chef at Pate’s, where she has worked for several years under the restaurant Anthony Silvestri.

“It was actually an idea from Brad Carlson, who is one of our board members,” Wibby said of how the event came together. “This was his bright idea, and we thought it was something new and fun and different that speaks to the mission and the work.”

The council sold out the kickoff event, the nonprofit’s first fundraiser since 2019. The event will also feature a silent auction, where attendees can bid on items with proceeds going back to support the council.

The council’s origins began in 1980 with the creation of the “Love Pantry,” which remains active at the Eastham Methodist Church. In 1984, the council was established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and has since expanded to operate nine emergency food pantries across the Lower and Outer Cape, which it works to stock through partnerships with the Greater Boston Food Bank and local businesses. The council also operates a financial assistance program and Katy’s Korner, a free clothing and household distribution center, out of its Orleans Office on Brewster Cross Road.

Wibby called the council’s 40th anniversary “a remarkable achievement,” noting that the nonprofit served more than 4,500 people last year.

“To continue to address the food insecurity that was identified as an issue back in 1984 and going through today is really something that we’re proud of,” she said.

While the nonprofit’s decades of service to the Lower and Outer Cape is worthy of celebration, its work continues. Wibby said while 19 percent of residents on Cape Cod struggled with food insecurity in 2019, that figure has since jumped to 33 percent.

“One in three adults are suffering from food insecurity, so we’re really trying to address that immediate need and bring awareness to some of the folks in the community that may not know that that number is so high.”

Wibby said she’s not daunted by the increased demand, but rather energized to try and meet it. She credits the council’s staff, board members and volunteers with putting in the legwork behind its mission. But for one night at least, she said time will be given to recognize how far the council has come.

“We’re just really looking forward to celebrating all the work that this organization has been able to accomplish through their volunteers and loyal donors over the last 40 years, and we’re excited for the next 40 and to continue the success into the future,” she said.

Email Ryan at ryan@capecodchronicle.com