Food Fest by the Numbers

These figures were just released (only to Riptide) regarding the 2007 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival:

$2 MILLION (plus) -- Record ticket revenue for this year's festival.

$1 MILLION -- Amount raised to benefit the students of the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center and Teaching Restaurant, and the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, both at Florida International University.

$333,000 -- Amount of additional funds for student scholarships raised by the Festival's on-line and silent auctions, and its' South African expedition.

$2 MILLION -- Amount of dollars in sponsorship investments that helped bankroll the festival.

30,000 -- Attendance of sipping and nibbling foodies, up from 24,000 last year.

6,000 -- Number of visitors attending the Festival's signature Grand Tasting Village events.

4,200 -- Pounds of food donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

25,200 -- Number of meals for needy children, homeless families, and working poor that the donated food will feed.

343 -- Days until the 2008 Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival, which will run from 2/21 - 2/24. — Lee Klein