Food and Folly Returns to Fort Whiting for a 17th Year, Raising Money for UCP of Mobile’s 32-County Reach

The 17th annual Food and Folly brought local restaurants, wine, craft beer and the Excelsior Band to Fort Whiting on Thursday, raising money for United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile's programs across 32 Alabama counties.

By James Bullard

September 19, 2026 · 5:47 pm Updated October 31, 2026 4 min read

Food and Folly Returns to Fort Whiting for a 17th Year, Raising Money for UCP of Mobile's 32-County Reach

MOBILE, Ala. — The 17th annual “Food and Folly” event was held at Fort Whiting on Thursday night, bringing together local restaurants, wine, craft beer and spirits, along with music from the Excelsior Band.

It is the signature fundraising event for United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile, which serves children and adults with special needs across 32 counties in south and central Alabama. A television anchor served as emcee.

What the Money Does

Jennifer Cooley with United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile said every dollar raised helps with the organization’s ongoing mission.

“It provides very beneficial funding for the programs and services we provide for people with all types of disabilities,” said Cooley, director of marketing for United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile. “Obviously Cerebral Palsy, but Down Syndrome, Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, any type of kind of disability or special needs someone has.”

The breadth Cooley describes reflects how UCP affiliates have evolved. The organization’s name points to its founding focus, but affiliates across the country have long served people with a wide range of disabilities, and the services offered — therapy, early intervention, family support, employment assistance — apply across diagnoses.

Thirty-two counties is a large service area for a single affiliate, covering much of south and central Alabama. In rural parts of that footprint, specialized disability services are thinly distributed, and a regional provider may be the nearest option available to a family.

Restaurants Donating Time and Food

“We love being part of the community and love being involved with other restaurants who are bringing great flavors to the table for this event,” said Ron Sullivan, executive chef at Dauphin’s.

“We like to give back to the community since everybody comes in and sees us and has a good time with us,” said Kasey Burch, manager at Half Shell Oyster House. “We like to give back and donate our time and our food.”

Donated food and labor are what make a tasting event financially efficient as a fundraiser. When the participating restaurants absorb both ingredient cost and staff time, the event’s expenses drop sharply and a much larger share of ticket revenue reaches the organization.

The Excelsior Band

Music came from the Excelsior Band, a Mobile institution whose brass sound has been part of the city’s parades, celebrations and civic events for generations. Booking the Excelsior Band signals a certain kind of Mobile event — local, long-running and civic rather than corporate.

Fort Whiting as a Venue

Fort Whiting, an armory in Mobile, has served for years as one of the city’s larger event spaces, hosting Mardi Gras functions, civic gatherings and fundraisers. Its size accommodates a multi-restaurant tasting format, where guests circulate among stations rather than being seated for a plated dinner.

Auction and Wine Pull

The evening also included a silent auction, a wine pull and other surprises.

Those elements are standard revenue layers at tasting fundraisers, and they tend to account for a meaningful share of the total raised. A wine pull, in which guests pay a fixed price for a concealed bottle, converts donated inventory into direct revenue with minimal overhead.

About United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile

United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile provides programs and services for children and adults with disabilities across 32 counties in south and central Alabama. Information on programs, services and ways to support the organization is available through UCP of Mobile.

Where UCP Began

United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile traces its founding to 1954, when the Junior League of Mobile established the organization as Beacon of Hope — making Mobile one of the earliest UCP affiliates in the country. In 1957 it became a United Way agency, and today its funding rests on a mix of state and federal grants, United Way support, and local, regional and national foundations. The organization also operates T-shirt printing through third parties and provides graphic design in-house. Its mobile office even extends services to Montgomery, alongside four other state offices in Florence, Huntsville, Anniston and Birmingham.

Camp SMILE: The Program That Started It All

Longtime President and CEO Todd Perkins — who joined UCP in 1989 and rose from supported-employment job coach to the organization’s top job — first encountered the mission at 14 as a volunteer at Camp SMILE in Citronelle. The camp was founded in June 1972 by the Rev. Glenn L. Vernon of Citronelle on behalf of his sister, who had Down syndrome; SMILE stands for Special Meaning In Life Experiences.

Camp SMILE now runs four one-week sessions each summer at Camp Grace in west Mobile, which offers air-conditioned cabins and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms for roughly 80 campers per session. Each camper is paired one-on-one with a counselor, and medical staff, paramedics, special-education teachers and dietary professionals stay on site through the week. Programming runs from arts and crafts and swimming to horseback riding and fishing, closing each week with a live-streamed talent show. Siblings are welcome, too — the camp serves around 150 campers each summer, and UCP of Mobile reaches more than 750 individuals and families a month overall.

The Volunteers Who Carry It

The camp’s volunteer pipeline is a Mobile tradition of its own. Volunteers go through three to four days of training, and most are 15 or older, assigned by need and experience. Board members have put their own stamp on fundraising: one recent spring, a UCP board member sponsored a walk from New Orleans to Camp SMILE that drew 30 participants — teams of two covering 13.6 miles a day for a week, with 100% of the funds raised going to the camp.

How to Help

Food and Folly remains UCP of Mobile’s largest annual fundraiser, and the organization accepts volunteers and donations year-round through its Mobile offices. “What do you say to an individual with disabilities?” Perkins has asked. “Just say hey.”