The 2026 Taste of the Browns pairs a Greater Cleveland Food Bank fundraiser with a silent auction of sports, dining and travel experiences. Among the more than 40 items are four Field Club seats to a Browns game, a four-person Cleveland Cavaliers theatre box with access to the Huntington Legends Club, and autographed helmets from linebacker Carson Schwesinger and former guard Joel Bitonio, who played on the Browns offensive line from 2014 to 2025.
The event happens Monday, September 14, 2026, at Huntington Bank Field, running from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to Cleveland.com. General admission tickets cost $225, while VIP tickets run $325, and both include food, beverages, a souvenir glass and valet parking. Bidders can place bids online or in person during the event itself, with all wagers accepted at greaterclevelandfoodbank.org/taste.
What's on the Block
The auction also includes a chef's table dinner for six at Fahrenheit with wine pairings, a signed jersey from rookie offensive tackle Spencer Fano and a Browns VIP game-day package with additional memorabilia. Other event and dining packages are listed as well, according to cleveland.com. Browns players and alumni are expected to attend, according to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
A companion raffle adds a 12-bottle bourbon collection valued at more than $1,500, a weeklong getaway to Seabrook Island near Charleston, South Carolina, and a Browns helmet signed by players and alumni attending the event. The raffle also includes a $750 Davey Tree services certificate and a Here We Go Brownies tailgate package for eight, according to cleveland.com.
Tailgate and Cruise Extras
The Here We Go Brownies package separately includes a Tito's Handmade Vodka branded cooler and gift set along with two tickets to the Here We Go Brownies Cruise on September 26, 2026, per a report from cleveland.com. A related tailgate offering features the Laurello Wine Kennel Bus parked in the Muni Lot, stocked with wine and food courtesy of Laurello Vineyards.
Chef Rocco Whalen of Fahrenheit is serving as an honorary event co-chair for the 28th annual Taste of the Browns alongside Schwesinger and Bitonio, according to Patch. Whalen has anchored the benefit's restaurant lineup for years through his ongoing partnership with the team and the food bank. Equipment maker NOCO serves as presenting sponsor, with Medical Mutual as Champion Sponsor and Nestlé as Hall of Fame Experience Sponsor, as detailed by Today's Family Magazine. The fundraiser is folded into the Browns' First and Ten community initiative, launched in June 2014 to encourage fans to log at least 10 volunteer hours a year.
Why the Stakes Are Higher This Year
The proceeds come as demand for food assistance remains high across the region. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank served 404,000 individuals in fiscal year 2025, matching levels seen at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as grocery inflation continued to pressure household budgets, according to the food bank's facts and statistics. The food bank says one in six individuals and one in four children in its six-county service area face food insecurity, while Cleveland's child poverty rate remains among the highest of any major U.S. city.
That service area spans Cuyahoga, Ashland, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Richland counties, distributed through a network of more than 1,000 partner agencies including pantries, shelters and mobile distribution sites. Every dollar raised through Taste of the Browns enables the food bank to provide up to two nutritious meals to local residents, according to the event's GiveSmart auction listing.
A broader view of food access
The local figures fit a broader national pattern: according to the USDA Economic Research Service, 13.7 percent of U.S. households—18.3 million households—were food insecure at some point in 2024. That national measure provides context for the demand reported by the food bank, but it does not by itself show how food insecurity has changed across the six Northeast Ohio counties it serves. The USDA's Food Access Research Atlas offers a different lens: its mapping tools measure proximity to SNAP-authorized and large food retailers and use population and retailer data to identify potential distance and transportation barriers. Those measures can highlight neighborhoods where access may be difficult, but they are not themselves a measure of food insecurity.
Since debuting in 1999, Taste of the Browns has generated more than $3 million to support hunger relief across Greater Cleveland, according to WKYC. The 26th annual event in September 2024 alone raised enough to provide 1 million meals to Northeast Ohio residents facing hunger, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank has said.
The fundraiser's growth also comes as larger institutional investments target the same crisis. In June 2026, Cleveland Clinic pledged $25 million to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, including $5 million to open a second Community Resource Center at 9830 Lorain Ave. on Cleveland's West Side, a project that will pair a healthy food market with housing and workforce services, according to Cleveland Clinic. Taste of the Browns organizers say the event is designed to raise both awareness and funds to fight food insecurity, positioning Monday's silent auction as one more piece of that broader effort.
