A Maryland-based nonprofit is teaming up with local renowned chefs and bartenders for a dining experience aimed to raise funds for two causes: one that supports health equity in immigrant communities and another that raises awareness of anti-Asian violence.

The event will be hosted on Wednesday, August 9, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at 8665 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. Tickets start at $250.

As one of only two health programs servicing refugees in the state of Maryland, CCI Health Services says they’re bridging the gap to provide much-needed resources to clients in both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties – which have seen a growing immigrant population in recent years.

“We provide health care, dental services, behavioral health, and a lot of other services to anyone who needs them, regardless of insurance status or immigration status or gender identity or any of that,” says Marisol Euceda, the director for marketing and communications at CCI Health Services. “Anyone can walk through our doors to get health care.”

In order to help meet their growing needs, CCI Health Services is putting together a pop-up food event with chef Kevin Tien (formerly of Moon Rabbit and the 2023 RAMW Chef of the Year), chef Tim Ma of the recently-opened Any Day Now, and the Richmond-based Ari Augenbaum of Soul Taco and JewFro.

Attendees will also be treated to special pastries from chef Susan Bae of the now-shuttered Moon Rabbit, along with drinks from Thi Nguyen, who is both the digital marketing specialist for CCI Health Services and the co-founder of the D.C. region’s AAPI Cocktail Week.

“As an immigrant myself, I know that moving to a new country, being able to feel comfortable to go get medical care is a really big challenge for me,” says Nguyen. “I think that is one of the reasons why that’s driving me to want to do this kind of event.”

For Tien, it’s a “no-brainer” to team up with friends like Nguyen to use food and drink as a platform towards a social cause. And while the need to help immigrant communities when it comes to health care has always existed, says Tien, it’s grown in the years since the pandemic.

“I think food is always a good reason for everyone to gather,” says Tien. “I think there’s… not a lot of access for everybody for health and there’s this huge inequity. So anything we can do to make a dent in that and close the gap.”

Funds from the event will benefit both the nonprofit and Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate, an organization that was founded in 2021 by Tien and Ma to raise awareness for the increasing violent incidents against Asian Americans in the U.S. Chef’s Stopping AAPI Hate has previously raised donations in the wake of events like the 2021 Lunar New Year shooting at Monterey Park in California.

Although the menu has yet to be finalized, Tien says attendees can look forward to shrimp and congee, a cultural riff on shrimp and grits. Nguyen says her cocktails will include “Melodies of Time” – a drink featuring gin, lychee juice, lime, and lemongrass syrup. There will also be a non-alcoholic version available.