Dinner at the Dump

Your Hosts:
Jerry & Julie Nabhan & Rebecca Buldo

Who would have thought that a “Dinner at a Dump” could be so good?

With mouth-watering marinated meats and salmon and fabulous hors d' oeuvres simply known as “Taste of Italy”, the staff at Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling knew it would be a hit! Our recipes, by popular demand, have been placed in the Sunnyvale Community Services cookbook for all of you to enjoy.

In just five (5) years, Specialty has steadily increased the amount of monies raised, with an estimated $200,000+ raised since 2005.

As with any great success, it takes a team of dedicated individuals to pull it off. Approximately five months of planning is involved to plan and prepare for an event such as this. From its conception, Specialty has been honored to have the help of numerous volunteers and generous donations from vendors throughout the Santa Clara County to help support this wonderful cause.

Last year, Specialty hosted over 600 people and this year we're aiming for 800. Going on its sixth year, Specialty is hoping to raise over $45,000.00 for five (5) outstanding non-profit organizations located in Sunnyvale: Sunnyvale Community Services, Leadership Sunnyvale, and the Rotary Club of Sunnyvale, Avon Walk, and YMCA. These five (5) organizations provide Sunnyvale residents and businesses with needed quality of life services.

As in the past, there has always been some kind of game or entertainment to challenge either your intellectual gifts or your motor skills. This year's entertainment is sure to challenge both. Come try your luck and take a chance to “dunk” one of your favorite City Council members at this year's new attraction, the “dunk tank”. (Plus a few surprise guests who have already volunteered to be the target of your throws!!)

Tickets are currently available. If you would like to purchase a ticket, please order tickets online below. If you have questions, please contact Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling at (408) 565-9900.

Attending the Dinner

Ticket Pricing
$50 - Adult 13+
$20 - Children 8-12
Free - Children under 8

-->ORDER TICKETS ONLINE<--
Pay by credit card or check

A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible
Tickets required for entry

You Can Volunteer!

As you can probably imagine, throwing a dinner for 800 people requires a significant volunteer effort to make it happen - that is where you come in! Dinner At the Dump is looking for a few good volunteers. All shifts last about one hour. You can eat before or afterwards, so you will still have plenty of time to enjoy the evening. If you wish to sign up, please contact the volunteer coordinator, Ben Picard and Mary Bradley dinneratthedumpvolunteers@regathon.com

Front-Gate Greeters - shifts begin at 3:30 pm
(take tickets for the event at front gate, bouncer duties - just kidding)
Bar and Raffle Ticket Sales - first shift at 3:30 pm
(we hock tickets at a table next to the bar!)
Bar Tenders - first shift at 3:30 pm
(pour drinks, listen to lonely-heart sob stories)
Serving-Table Helpers
(make sure the serving tables remain full)
Helpers for Raffle and Silent Auction
(answer questions, make sure items get to winners)
Clean Up - Shift begins at 9:00 pm
(helpers after the event is over)

The PSOA, (Public Safety Officers Assocation,) will be handling the barbecue.

Setup on Saturday morning is being run by the Rotory Interact Club!

The wine carts are being handled by Sunnyvale Community Services, and they also work the crowd selling raffle tickets.

See You There!

How did all this get started?

Jim Telfer - Executive Director for the Leadership Sunnyvale program, had heard of a similar event and decided to approach Jerry with the possibility of having Specialty host such an event. Jim and Jerry invited Nancy Tivol, with Sunnyvale Community Services, to help with the production of this event and to share in the proceeds. (Jerry has always been one to help the community and what better way than to help those less fortunate than us.)

Jerry Nabhan This event takes about 5-6 months of planning. Rebecca starts in early January putting together the “kick-off” email that goes out to all of the committee members. She then produces the flyer which is distributed throughout the Silicon Valley by either email, committee members or friends. From that point on, it's non-stop work… placing telephone calls to vendors, sending out letters of request for donation, thanking people for their contribution, meeting with prospective vendors, etc. A lot of hours !!!!

What types of things do Jerry, Julie and Rebecca have to do to get ready?

The menu for Dinner at the Dump was rather easy. For over 17 years, each May and November Specialty has a “Steak B.B.Q.” for it employees. (Barbecued N.Y. Steaks, Chicken and fresh Salmon). We use my homemade marinade for the steaks. On the Wednesday before the B.B.Q., I make my homemade marinade, tenderize all of the meat and place the steaks in the sauce and then in ziplocks, and rotate the bags until the steaks are barbecued on Friday. (This marinade became very popular and we use it to marinate our Dinner at the Dump Steaks.
For the chicken, we use an herb recipe.
For the Salmon, we use Jerry's homemade maple syrup recipe. (both the Salmon and the Steak recipes have been placed in the Sunnyvale Community Cookbook.)
Chili Beans - This is a recipe that belongs to one of my supervisor.
Taste of Italy - Sponsored by SunnyvaleToyota!! Our event would not be the same without our famous Taste of Italy!

Trucks / Debris Containers:

2.5 acres must be cleared of trucks and containers. The asphalt must be washed down and over 20 event tables are set-up.

Who sets up the 80+ dinner tables?

The dinner tables are delivered on the morning of the event. The Rotary Club of Sunnyvale, one of the honored recipients, arranges a group of kids from the Interact group to come and help set up. (it takes about 25 - 30 people to set up all of the tables, their linen, place the centerpieces on the tables, etc.)

How many volunteers work the event?

We will have over 100 volunteers help on the day of the event. This includes the firefighters who help b.b.q. the chicken and the steak.

Where does all of the food come from?

Specialty spends over $12,000.00 on the event each year. A large number of those dollars cover the expense of the meat, chicken, fish and chili. We get donations to help cover the expenses for the dessert. Taste of Italy was sponsored last year by Toyota Sunnyvale and they have again been generous enough to sponsor Taste of Italy this year. The dinner rolls, salad, cheese & crackers, wine and beer are usually donated by generous vendors.