The wait is over — Sizzle Dining is served

FORT MYERS, Fla. - EntSun -- Sizzle Dining, Southwest Florida's premier culinary fundraiser, is now underway, with 137 restaurants from Marco Island to Babcock Ranch serving specially priced menus through Sept. 30. The milestone 10th year marks the first time the event spans the entire month of September, with a goal of selling more than 100,000 Sizzle meals.

Participating restaurants are offering prix-fixe breakfast, lunch and dinner menus starting at $19, with two-, three- and four-course options available. Every menu delivers a true 25% to 30% discount off the restaurant's regular a la carte pricing.

For every Sizzle Dining meal sold, participating restaurants donate $1 to benefit the Southwest Florida chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit that feeds food-insecure elementary school children on weekends and during the summer. In 2025, 127 restaurants across Collier and Lee counties sold a record 87,483 meals, resulting in an $87,483 donation.

"Save. Support. Celebrate. — that's our mantra this year," said Guy Clarke, Executive Director of Sizzle Dining. "You save money and help save restaurants during the slowest month, you support kids and restaurants, and you help celebrate our amazing food scene and 10 years of Sizzle. The deal runs all month long, so there's no need to rush. My advice is to start with the smaller mom-and-pops before the crowds find them."

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Diners can browse all the 137 menus at SizzleDining.org, pick a city to explore, look through all the menus and go. No passes, tickets or reservations through the event are required, though reservations directly with restaurants are recommended.

Some restaurants are offering separate breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, and several plan to refresh their offerings midway through the month. Menus, hours, and restaurant contact information are available online.

During the 2025-26 school year, Blessings in a Backpack's Southwest Florida chapter served 31 school programs, fed about 8,000 children every Friday and distributed 256,000 weekend food bags. These achievements were made possible by the collective generosity of donors and community partners throughout the region, with Sizzle Dining's annual contribution proudly among them.

For more information on Sizzle Dining and to view participating restaurants, menus and restaurant contact information, visit SizzleDining.org.