NJ’s Culinary Community Unites Again to Fight Hunger at Table to Table’s 2025 Chefs Gala

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Total Food Service magazine’s October 2025 issue. Click here to read the rest of the article.

In kitchens all across New Jersey, long before any guests are seated and well after the last table is cleared, chefs are doing something more than cooking. They’re feeding people who can’t afford to dine out—some who can’t afford to eat at all That commitment to serve extends beyond their restaurants, and it’s made possible by the quite force that drives this movement year after year: Table to Table.

For over two decades, Table to Table has been the guiding link between food excess and food need. It’s not a food pantry. It’s not a soup kitchen. It’s the engine behind a logistics miracle — rescuing fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and getting it to places where it’s desperately needed. In doing so, it’s become a lifeline for more than 300 partners —shelters, food pantries, community centers, and school programs — across Northern New Jersey.

On Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, the people who make this effort possible — New Jersey’s chefs — will gather at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale for one extraordinary night: the Table to Table Chefs Gala. It’s not just a fundraiser; it’s a celebration of generosity, talent, and shared purpose.

Ryan DePersio, co-chair of the event, reflected on the impact of the night.

“It’s not a typical charity event,” DePersio said. “It’s almost 300 people we’re cooking for, but each table gets their own chef. That personal interaction is rare, and the guests love it as much as we do.”

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

• Annual Chefs Gala: Experience NJ’s Most Spectacular Culinary Event!
• Table to Table Names Christian Petroni, Popular Italian American Celebrity Chef, Restaurateur, and Author, as its 2025 Chefs Gala Honoree
• Table to Table Gala 2025: Celebrity Chef Christian Petroni in the Spotlight
• 25 of New Jersey’s best chefs to cook tableside at annual charity gala. See who’s coming.