First Taste of Mendham Cooks Up $2,500 for Charities

More than 100 attendees had delectable foods and fabulous wines Sunday night, but the real winners were local food pantries.

The first Taste of Mendham filled the Brookside Community Club Sunday, offering a variety of flavors from local vendors, including Villa Enterprises and Village Wines.

Because of the efforts, more than $2,500 was netted at the event and is being split between the Interfaith Food Pantry and Meals on Wheels. While donations are still being counted, proceeds could reach $3,000. In addition to the money, all food not used during the event was donated to Market Street Mission in Morristown.

“It was a beautiful night, and the attendance exceeded our expectations,” said Stan Gorski, a member of the Mendham Township Republican County Committee, which organized the non-political event. “People have already begun asking about next year.”

Gorski said he hopes next year’s event would include more groups to help organize and expand on the inaugural event’s success. “Some of our vendors already said they’d like to come back next year and expand their presence,” Gorski said.

The room used at Brookside Community Club maxed out at 150 persons. Including attendees and vendors, Gorski said, the room was near its limit for a portion of the night.

“If we go bigger next year, we’ll have to look at larger venues such as the Sisters of Christian Charities, and hopefully we can have more organizations working together,” Gorski said.