For the past three years, the family behind Flores Concepts and all of the Si Charro restaurants have been donating a portion of the proceeds from Charro Vida’s food sales to support the UA Community and School Garden Program.
Now, in honor of Earth Day, Si Charro is “doubling the Round-Up” at all participating Flores Concepts locations on Thursday, April 22.
Aside from the additional funding Si Charro has offered to the programs, fresh produce from the gardens at Ricardo Manzo Elementary School and JB Wright Elementary School has been featured in certain dishes at Charro Vida.
When Richard Manzo Elementary School was vandalized in 2019, the Charro team crafted a spicy salsa using peppers from the school’s garden and donated 100-percent of sales to help them with repairs.
The restaurant group has recently upped the ante, so to speak.
Flores Concepts recently signed up the entire restaurant group up with Round it Up America — a platform that encourages visitors at restaurants to round up their checks and donate their change to the many charitable organizations and programs that need support.
At first, the additional funds will be going towards the UA School Gardes program as it prepares for the new school year. The program began in 2006 when TUSD instructor Moses Thompson helped found the nationally recognized Manzo Ecology Program as part of his school counseling program — utilizing the therapeutic nature of gardening to help meet the social and emotional needs of his students.
The program was eventually adopted by the University of Arizona in 2009 and has since multiplied into 70 school gardens involving 4,000 TUSD kids, with 100 teachers trained annually in garden-based teaching.
For more information on Flores Concepts and the Si Charro restaurant group, visit sicharro.com.
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Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
