More than two dozen restaurants across Tampa Bay are rolling out special burgers starting Thursday, with a portion of every purchase going to feed families struggling to put food on the table. Tampa Bay Burger Week runs Nov. 12-22, and organizers say the event is designed to help local families get meals during the holiday season while diners simply order what they'd normally crave anyway.
More Than Two Dozen Restaurants Signed On
As of Tuesday, more than two dozen restaurants on both sides of the bay had signed up for the event, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. That lineup includes more than 20 participating restaurants offering featured burgers priced from $10 to $26, per event organizers, and a portion of every featured burger purchase will benefit Feeding Tampa Bay, as reported by 10 Tampa Bay. Diners can order a participating restaurant's special simply by asking for the Tampa Bay Burger Week special, and some locations offer dine-in, takeout and delivery.
The menu spans a wide range of price points and styles. Bulla Gastrobar in South Howard is offering its Bulla Burger for $16, while Flan Factory's Tampa Heights location has the Havana Frita for $13. Vegan International Co. in North Tampa is serving its plant-based NcDouble for $18.99, and Food + Beer's Meatball Smash Burger runs $15.49, according to the same Creative Loafing report. Food + Beer also plans to donate $1 for every Burger Week burger it sells, per 10 Tampa Bay's reporting.
Voting Opens Thursday Morning
Hungry participants aren't just eating — they're also judging. Event voting for the Best Burger title opens at 9 a.m. Thursday, and voters can cast their picks through the event's official website.
Why Feeding Tampa Bay Needs the Help
Feeding Tampa Bay provides food assistance and other services to residents across 10 West Central Florida counties: Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter, according to Feeding Florida. The nonprofit anticipates serving more than 85 million meals this year, and nearly 1 million people in the region may be one financial setback or emergency away from needing assistance, per Feeding Tampa Bay's own figures cited by 10 Tampa Bay.
The need has only grown. Feeding Tampa Bay officials say rising costs are contributing to growing demand for assistance, and the organization has seen at least a 25% increase in the need for help over the last two years, according to Bay News 9. “We have more people in our care today than we had during COVID,” Feeding Tampa Bay President and CEO Thomas Mantz told the station, adding that the surge is likely tied to food and gas prices, inflation and stagnant wages.
That strain isn't limited to Feeding Tampa Bay's own numbers. Research from the Tampa Bay Partnership found that 46% of working households across the region still struggle financially, according to a report from Tampa Bay 28. Metropolitan Ministries has separately reported a 15% increase in seniors seeking assistance over the past year, per Bay News 9's reporting. Hillsborough County has responded by expanding its free grocery distribution schedule in partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay.
Sources differ on just how many meals Feeding Tampa Bay delivered last year. Feeding Florida reported the organization provided 87 million meals to neighbors across West Central Florida, while Tampa Bay 28 reported a figure of 100 million meals delivered over the same period. Either way, the scale of need underscores why organizers designed Burger Week to funnel diners' everyday meals toward the region's hunger relief effort, with the event's 11-day run offering a low-effort way for Tampa Bay residents to pitch in while they eat.
