Last Thursday, over 40 of the region’s top restaurants filed into the Atlantic City Convention Center for an annual event designed to raise money for food-insecure children in South Jersey. Held within the backdrop of the Atlantic City Boat Show, the eleventh annual Captain’s Table Reception featured an array of delicious food, cocktails, and stunning array of desserts.
Hundreds of attendees sampled dishes created by some of the area’s top chefs, with aid and support from student volunteers at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Cape May County Technical High School, and Mainland Regional High School. This year’s Captain’s Table also marked the kickoff to Taste Atlantic City, a month-long celebration showcasing the area’s top flavors and restaurants.
Additionally, guests enjoyed music provided by the Egg Harbor Township High School Jazz Band, along with roving entertainment, and silent auctions, all to support the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, and Let Us Eat – Please, and their mission to end childhood hunger.
Let Us Eat – Please Inc. was founded in 2012 by the late James Cooper, founding partner at Cooper Levinson Attorneys at Law, after he learned from his daughter, a teacher, about the effects of hunger among the one in seven children who attend school hungry within New Jersey. Cooper launched the organization just after his 82nd birthday. Today, his mission and legacy live on thanks to the support of Cooper Levinson.
Every two weeks throughout the summer, families in area school districts receive a 30-pound box of groceries, valued at just over $30. Last year alone, the group distributed more than 42,000 meals to families living throughout Atlantic County.
Since its founding, Let Us Eat – Please has provided more than 1.4 million meals to families through the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.
Donna Vecere, former Director of Marketing at Cooper Levinson, has played a key role in supporting Let Us Eat – Please and continuing the organization’s mission since her retirement last year. “It’s such a great cause and it’s always such a great event that it wasn’t a hard decision to stay involved.”
In 2025, CFBNJ distributed more than 90 million meals, along with 35 million pounds of produce, with 74% of all the food distributed prioritized to focus on healthy food procurement and address hunger. Food insecurity continues to rise and is not solved by food by itself, with the goal of pairing supportive services with food distribution to prioritize positive outcomes.
One of the missions of the event is to raise awareness about food insecurity, according to Vecere. “Many people don’t realize that in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties, we typically have one in five children who are regularly hungry. That’s a big number. Our mission is to eventually have no children in five.”
Vecere credits all the restaurants and chefs in attendance for their support, along with the Professional Chefs Association of South Jersey, for playing a vital role in the Captain’s Table event. “They gather all the chefs, and without them we can’t make this happen. They are the most incredible group of people I’ve ever met (and) they give back all the time.”
More information about Let Us Eat – Please, including the Captain’s Table, can be found at www.letuseatplease.org.
Photos by Steffen Klenk
