Bison Organic Beer raises $9,102 for charity, looks to raise more

Brewmaster Dan Del Grande of Bison Organic Beer; Chef Kim Alter of Haven; Karen Rogers, Founder of Sprouts and the three lucky scholarship winners!

On August 25th, Berkeley-based Bison Organic Beer and Eat Boston co-hosted the first-ever San Francisco Bacon & Beer Festival. 25 craft breweries and 25 Bay Area restaurants came together for the event, which benefited local slow food charity, Sprouts Cooking Club.

The event raised $9,102 for Sprouts Cooking Club. Sprouts is using the money to put three students through their Chef-in-Training program—a culinary-training program that provides disadvantaged youth the opportunity to turn their lives around and secure a job in the restaurant industry by learning essential cooking skills under the tutelage of some of the best chefs in the Bay Area.

"In my opinion, most existing beer festivals don't serve the best interest of the charities they are supposed to be supporting," said Dan Del Grande, Bison's owner and brewmaster. "The amount of money raised is usually small and, often times, festival attendees don't even know which charities are benefiting. My goal with the Bacon & Beer Festival was to be as transparent as possible—I wanted people to know who they were supporting and where their hard-earned money went."

Bison is currently raising money for another philanthropic initiative called The Beer Wagon—a 501(c)3 pending beverage truck that will donate 100% of its profits to like-minded local charities, like Sprouts. To learn more about The Beer Wagon and how you can donate to the cause, visit Indiegogo.com. There are great perks available at various donation levels.