In response to the devastating wildfires burning across Hawaii’s island of Maui, Mediterranean restaurant Tzeva, located inside Art Ovation Hotel Autograph Collection, is partnering with Hawaii-based Lahaina Fires Chef Collective to help feed vulnerable Maui communities. Tzeva encourages the Sarasota community to stand in solidarity with Maui and will be donating 20% of all lunch and dinner service proceeds on Saturday, September 9 to the cause. Tzeva is honored to be working with Maui-based Chef Jason Raffin who is a member of Chef Collective, an organization composed of chefs who use their culinary skills and food service connections to feed communities in need. Despite also losing his home and belongings in the wildfires, Chef Raffin is eager to help others who have been displaced, are unemployed, grieving or otherwise in need of support because of the fires. “We deeply respect the work that Chef Raffin is doing to uplift his community and we here at Tzeva want to support that,” said Peter Hough, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage at Tzeva. “On September 9, every dish that is ordered at Tzeva will help to bring positive change to Maui.” Focusing efforts on the heavily impacted West Maui, especially Lahaina, Chef Collective is helping Chef Raffin coordinate with local Hua Momona Farms, a non-profit 501c3 foundation, to feed quality food to the impacted community with an emphasis on farm ingredients, micronutrients and long-term solutions to food insecurity. “We have been making huge strides in fighting the food insecurity problems in Lahaina currently,” said Chef Raffin. “We are focused on creating excellent food rather than mass produced substances.” Recently, Chef Raffin and the teams at Lahaina Fires Chef Collective and Hua Momona Farms partnered with Hungry Heroes Hawaii to provide steak plates to first responders. As donation and distribution efforts from other organizations slow in Maui, Lahaina Fires Chef Collective and Hua Momona Farms aim to absorb these efforts and increase their output from serving 400 farm-fresh meals per day to 1,000 meals per day. To make this goal a reality, donations from Tzeva will help Chef Raffin and the team acquire a refrigerated truck, invest in two additional storage spaces and find more farm and kitchen help. Sarasota residents and visitors are invited to share in Tzeva’s lunch and dinner cuisines on September 9 to support the cause. A meal at Tzeva will ensure someone has a meal tomorrow in Maui. Lunch is served from 11 AM - 2 PM and dinner is served from 5 PM - 10 PM. Reservations can be made via OpenTable. Visit www.tzevasarasota.com or follow along on Instagram @tzevasarasota to stay updated on the latest news. To make a monetary donation to Lahaina Fires Chef Collective, please visit the GoFundMe page.