Orange County News Blog

South Coast Repertory and Orange County Performing Arts Center are doing something bold this month. They are collecting from audiences at each venue's shows non-perishable food that will be donated to the Orange County Food Bank, whose services are needed more than ever.

Nice, you're saying, but what's so bold about that? Every elementary school's fourth grade class does the same thing, right?

Well, what is bold about the Arts Can Food Drive is, and let me repeat, they are encouraging audience members to bring non-perishable food to shows. Anyone who has watched silent films, medieval-period pieces or Mel Brooks comedies knows that restless crowd folk soon dip into their bags and pockets and start launching rotten tomatoes at stage performers. I've never understood why audiences would bring rotten produce to a show, but that's not the point right now. The point is I'd rather dodge rotten tomatoes than non-perishable cans of Hormel Turkey Chili.