KC nonprofit Pete’s Garden selected as featured charity, helping families in need 

KANSAS CITY, Mo.Visit KC and the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association are proud to announce Kansas City Restaurant Week will return for its 18th year from Jan. 8-18, 2027.   

New in 2027, KC Restaurant Week will extend for an 11th day (Monday, Jan. 18), inviting diners to end their Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend by supporting great causes.  

KC’s premier dining event is dedicated to supporting the restaurant industry, showcasing the region’s diverse dining scene and promoting local charity initiatives. 

“Every meal shared over these 11 days makes an impact far beyond the dining table,” said Lauren Logan, Visit KC’s director of partnerships and events.  

“In addition to creating thousands of jobs, our local restaurants help bring Kansas City’s culture to life. KC Restaurant Week provides an exciting opportunity for everyone to support these businesses and local nonprofits doing important work as we enjoy a great meal.”  

During Kansas City Restaurant Week, restaurants will offer multicourse menus at exclusive prices of $20, $40, $50 and $65.   

“At its core, Kansas City Restaurant Week is about supporting the people and businesses that make our restaurant community so special,” said Trey Meyers, director of marketing and communications for the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association.  

“For 18 years, our restaurants have embraced this event not only as an opportunity to welcome new guests through their doors, but also to give back to the community they serve. We’re excited to once again showcase the strength and diversity of Kansas City’s dining scene while supporting three deserving charitable organizations.” 

Community Beneficiary 

As part of KC Restaurant Week, participating restaurants pledge 10% of menu sales to three selected charities: the Greater KC Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Visit KC Foundation and a featured community beneficiary.  

Throughout its 17-year history, participating restaurants and KCRW diners have raised over $4.5 million for local causes.  

For 2027, Visit KC and the Greater KC Restaurant Association are pleased to share that Pete’s Garden will be the featured charity.  

The Kansas City-based nonprofit will use KCRW donations to strengthen its food recovery program, which works with the food service sector to ensure good-to-eat surplus prepared food goes to feed families instead of landfills. 

“We are honored and grateful to be recognized as the 2027 charitable beneficiary for Kansas City Restaurant Week. This recognition will help us spread the word within the community about our food recovery program and sign on more food donors as well as financial sponsors who can help keep our operations going,” said Tamara Weber, founder and executive director of Pete’s Garden. 

“Research indicates that children who regularly share meals with their family do better physically, academically and emotionally. But many working parents lack the time and resources to prepare a wholesome family dinner. Through the growth of our food recovery program, we hope more Kansas City families will be able to experience the benefits of connecting over a shared meal.” 

In 2026, Pete’s Garden expects to recover 260,000 pounds of high-quality, chef-prepared food from Kansas City area stadiums, event venues, schools, hospitals and other food service sites. Volunteers portion and repackage the food into free, take-home meals that are distributed through more than 20 local social service agencies that serve families with children. 

Pete’s Garden estimates that its food recovery program allows 1,000 families to take home a complete family dinner at least once per week.  

The nonprofit also recently partnered with FIFA to recover prepared food from Kansas City’s World Cup venues, resulting in over 20,000 additional take-home meals to be distributed in June and July. 

Early Bird Registration 

Early bird registration for KC Restaurant Week 2027 is open now through Tuesday, Dec. 1.  

Ahead of the early bird deadline, registration is free for restaurants with a Visit KC or Greater KC Restaurant Association membership and discounted for all other local businesses planning to participate. After Dec. 1, standard registration fees apply to all restaurants.  

Restaurants interested in participating in Kansas City Restaurant Week 2027 can register online here. 

New KCRW Website 

New this year, KC Restaurant Week is officially launching its redesigned website, now live at kcrestaurantweek.com 

The mobile-friendly site now includes several new and enhanced features, making it easier for KCRW diners to find their next meal:  

  • Explore the interactive map to easily find participating restaurants nearby. 
  • Save your favorites to create a personalized list of restaurants and share recommendations with friends. 
  • Use new filtering options to discover restaurants based on cuisine, location, menu offerings and more.  
  • Find integrated neighborhood content to explore more of Kansas City before or after your meal. 

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À propos de la « Kansas City Restaurant Week »  

Kansas City Restaurant Week (KCRW) is KC’s premier dining event founded by the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association and Visit KC to support the regional restaurant community. 2027 marks the 18th consecutive year for the dining event, spotlighting KC as one of the country’s premier dining and vacationing destinations. Each year, KCRW partners with local charities to raise funds for deserving causes. In 2026, restaurants boosted the event’s 17-year charitable total to over $4.5 million. For more information, visit KCRestaurantWeek.com.  

À propos de Visit KC            

Attracting millions of visitors to the Kansas City area annually, Visit KC is the internationally accredited chief hospitality sales and marketing organization for the region. With a mission of creating global passion for Kansas City, Visit KC collaborates with nearly 900 community partners to drive the marketing, sales and service of the destination’s convention and tourism industry—a sector that supports more than 128,000 local jobs and generates millions of dollars in community spending and sales tax revenue. For more information about Kansas City, please visit the official Visit KC website. Travelers planning their next trip to Kansas City can also find inspiration and local insights in the 2026 Visit KC Visitors Guide.  

À propos de l'Association des restaurateurs de la région métropolitaine de Kansas City 

The Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, as a chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association, works with its membership to represent, educate and promote the restaurant and hospitality industries in Northwest Missouri and in the counties of Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth in Kansas.   

About Pete’s Garden 

Pete’s Garden is a Kansas City-based nonprofit, founded in 2020, with the mission of enabling more families to share wholesome meals together at home. Pete’s Garden delivers on their mission through their food recovery and Kids Feeding Kids programs. Their food recovery program partners with food service operations to recover good-to-eat surplus prepared food and redirect it as free, take-home family dinners. Approximately 1,000 Kansas City area families take home a complete wholesome Pete’s Garden dinner at least once per week. Kids Feeding Kids is a school-based service-learning program that teaches students in grades 7-12 about the root causes of food insecurity and the need to reduce food waste. Participating students plan, prepare and distribute free take-home meals for families in their community. For the 2026-27 school year, Kids Feeding Kids will be implemented in over 60 schools across nine states.