— Mission & Programs

The weekend is the fundraiser.

South Beach Seafood Festival exists to pay for programs that a school lunch budget doesn't cover — and to prove that a good time and a good cause can share a table.

Support the Mission Get Tickets

Official disclosure

South Beach WFF Foundation Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 36-4899790. The Foundation owns South Beach Seafood Festival and supports charitable initiatives focused on youth health, nutrition, education, and community impact. The festival is produced and operated by CI Foundation Inc.. Proceeds and community partnerships help support programs including EAT SMART, Culinary Education + Workforce Pathways, and Restaurant + Hospitality Support.

EIN 36-4899790CIFoundation.org

— Where your money goes

Tickets and sponsorships become programs.

Commercial activity is not a side note on this site — it is the engine. Ticket sales, sponsorship, and partner contributions cover the cost of running the festival and then fund the charitable work the festival was created to support.

You buy a ticket

Every pass, dinner seat, and competition ticket pays for the festival to happen — then the remainder becomes proceeds.

Partnerships add to it

Sponsorships, brand activations, and in-kind donations cover programming that a ticket price alone could never fund.

Programs get funded

Proceeds and community partnerships flow to the Foundation's charitable work: youth nutrition, culinary education, and support for local restaurants.

Years

12K+

Attendees

50+

Restaurants

30+

Wine & Spirits

— The programs

Three ways the foundation shows up.

Each program runs year-round. The festival weekend is where they get funded, and where the community that supports them gets to meet.

Program 01

EAT SMART

Youth nutrition and healthy meals in Miami-Dade schools

EAT SMART is the foundation's core youth program: healthy food and nutrition education for students across Miami-Dade County public schools. It pairs real meals with the teaching that helps young people keep making good food choices long after the bell rings.

What we do

Healthy meal support and nutrition-focused programming
Chef-led cooking demos and school experiences
Balanced food choices and practical ways to eat well
Engaging restaurants, chefs, sponsors, and community partners in youth education

How it's funded

Festival proceeds and community partnerships help support healthy meal support and classroom nutrition programming.

How to help

Buy a ticket or a pass, or point a company your work with toward a sponsorship that names EAT SMART as its beneficiary.

Program 02

Culinary Education + Workforce Pathways

A bridge from the classroom to South Florida's kitchens

This work puts students beside working chefs and restaurants — on the festival floor, in competition, and in the classroom — so a first taste of the industry can become a first job in it.

What we do

Hands-on festival experiences alongside chefs and restaurants
Student culinary competitions and emerging-talent showcases
Chef mentorship, demos, and classroom career conversations
Internship, externship, and job-shadowing pathways with industry partners

How it's funded

Festival proceeds and community partnerships help support student competitions, demo stages, and mentorship.

How to help

Offer a student an internship, externship, or job-shadowing day, or bring a school group to the Culinary Showcase Kitchen.

Program 03

Restaurant + Hospitality Support

Backing the businesses and people behind the menu

A culinary scene only holds together if the restaurants and hospitality workers behind it can keep going. This initiative gives local teams a national stage and a year-round network instead of a single weekend of exposure.

What we do

High-visibility platforms for local restaurants, chefs, and culinary teams
Festival marketing, digital content, and storytelling for partners
Culinary competitions, demos, and showcase opportunities
Year-round connection with guests, media, sponsors, and tourism audiences

How it's funded

Festival proceeds and community partnerships help support restaurant showcases, tastings, and partner storytelling.

How to help

Host a restaurant partner, sponsor a showcase or activation, or send a team into a chef competition.

Owner

South Beach WFF Foundation Inc.

A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 36-4899790. The Foundation owns South Beach Seafood Festival and holds its charitable purpose.

Producer & operator

CI Foundation Inc.

CI Foundation Inc. produces and operates the festival — the venues, the chefs, the production, and the weekend itself.

Get involved

Three ways to move this forward.

Come to the festival, give directly, or bring your organization's capacity to the table. All three keep the programs running.

Donate Volunteer & partner Learn about the Foundation

Good to know

Questions about the cause.

Reach the Foundation

South Beach WFF Foundation Inc. · EIN 36-4899790 · CI Foundation Inc. produces and operates South Beach Seafood Festival.

The weekend is the fundraiser.

Tickets and sponsorships become programs.

You buy a ticket

Partnerships add to it

Programs get funded

Three ways the foundation shows up.

EAT SMART

Culinary Education + Workforce Pathways

Restaurant + Hospitality Support

South Beach WFF Foundation Inc.

CI Foundation Inc.

Three ways to move this forward.

Questions about the cause.

Does #SobeSeafood Week support a charity?

How do festival proceeds support the programs?