The Alex’s Lemonade Kids’ Campaign now has 18 top chefs donating $1 per dish for childhood cancer research. Here’s how to eat out and give back.
Since Alex’s Lemonade Kids’ Campaign started, and for ten summers it has managed to stay exactly that charming and that serious at the same time. This year the folding tables have company.
Eighteen of Southern California’s best-known restaurants have signed on, which means you can now join a neighborhood lemonade stand from a dinner reservation. The campaign has already raised more than $550,000 for childhood cancer research, and its 17-year-old chair wants to clear $600,000 before the ice melts on the season.
A Lemonade Stand That Now Takes Reservations
Alex Scott held her first lemonade stand to help doctors treat kids like her, and she kept going until she died at eight. The stands never stopped. Two decades later, children across Southern California still set them up every summer, and the annual L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade dinner has raised more than $12 million for childhood cancer research since 2009.
What changed this year is where you can find a stand. It might be a table on your street. It might also be your dinner tab. The most grassroots fundraiser in Los Angeles just hired a maître d’.
How the Chef Sponsor Program Works
The math is refreshingly simple. Order a featured dish at a participating restaurant, and the chef donates $1 from that item to the Kids’ Campaign. You do not sign up, round up, or scan a code. You order the thing you were going to order anyway, and a dollar goes to pediatric cancer research on its way out the door.
The roster is wide on purpose. It runs from downtown Los Angeles all the way up into the Santa Barbara wine country, so the featured plate could be almost anything, from a dish built around cool-climate Central Coast Pinot to a summer cocktail with real citrus in the glass.
Participating spots include Providence, A.O.C., Charcoal, Mozza, Citrin, Redbird, Night + Market, Violet Bistro, The Wilkes, Dear John, Jar, Cookbook, Cara Cara, Valerie Confections, and Big Bar in Los Angeles, plus Bell’s in Los Alamos, The Hitching Post in Buellton, and Lucky Penny in Santa Barbara. That is a lot of kitchens agreeing to do the same small, good thing at once.
The Kid Behind the $600,000 Goal
Charles Lentz is 17, entering his senior year, and the son of acclaimed chefs Suzanne Goin and David Lentz. He has been going to L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade since he was small, so recruiting the city’s chefs was less a cold pitch than a phone call to people who already knew him.
“Alex’s Lemonade has always meant so much to me,
not only because it helps children battling cancer,
but because it’s a tradition that has brought my family together for years,”
Charles Lentz
“Seeing so many chefs come together to support this cause has been incredibly inspiring. It shows how food can unite a community around something bigger than ourselves. We’re excited to break the $600,000 mark this year.”
Here is the part that made me look twice. The World Gold Council is matching every donation to the Kids’ Campaign up to $20,000, which is not a sentence you expect to read about a children’s lemonade stand.
The Alex’s Lemonade Kids’ Campaign has quietly grown into something with real financial machinery behind it, even as the point stays the same: a cold glass of real lemonade in an LA August, tart enough to make you blink.
How to Join
Families can register to host a stand or start an online fundraising page, with each participant committing to raise $300 through sales, donations, or whatever creative idea a determined kid comes up with. Everyone who hits $300 earns one complimentary adult ticket to the L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade dinner, and Kids’ Campaign participants take the stage to hand their collective check to Alex’s family in person.
To date, are the participating chefs, with others joining each week:
Alcove / Big Bar – Dust to Side Chicks Cocktail
Cara Cara at the Downtown LA Proper Hotel – Hamachi Ceviche
Caroline Styne & Irene Neuwirth
Daisy Ryan: Bell’s – Egg Salad Sandwich
Devan Clark: the Wilkes – Brentwood Burger
Max Anderson: Violet Bistro – Le Double Smashburger
Frank Ostini: The Hitching Post 2 & Hitching Post Wines Tasting Room – Hitching Post Grilled Artichoke with Smoked Tomato Pesto
Hans Röckenwagner and Josiah Citrin: Dear John – Old Fashioned, Caesar Salad & Rib Eye
Hans Röckenwagner and Josiah Citrin: Dear Jane – Smoky Jane & Yellowtail Carpaccio
Jason Paluska: Lucky Penny Santa Barbara – $1 from EVERY lemonade or strawberry lemonade sold from September 15-October 15 (Santa Barbara location only)
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo: Jon & Vinny @ Cookbook – Domino Cookie
Josiah Citrin: Charcoal – She’s a Rainbow, Cabbage & Skirt Steak
Josiah Citrin: Citrin – Hamachi Crudo, Tasting Menu, Lobster Bolognese & Need You Tonight Cocktail
Kris and Sarah Yenbamroong: Night Market – Crispy Rice Salad
Michael Cimarusti: Providence – $1 dollar from EVERY tasting menu
Nancy Silverton: Pizzeria Mozza – Mixed Berry Gelato Pie
Neal Fraser: Redbird – Shishito Peppers
Suzanne Goin: A.O.C. – Spanish Fried Chicken
Suzanne Tracht: Jar – Jar Fries & the Wedge Salad
Valerie Gordon: Valerie Confection – Lemon Chess Pie
Warren Schwartz: Magpies – Strawberry Lemonade Float
Participating Chefs 2026
Adam Perry Lang – APL (L.A.)
Akasha Richmond – AKASHA (L.A.)
Ana Saenz – Sweet Rose Creamery (Santa Monica, CA)
Bob Oswaks – Bob’s Well Bread Bakery (Los Alamos, CA)
Brian Rigsby – The Wilkes (L.A.)
Bricia Lopez – Guelaguetza (L.A.)
Bruce Kalman – Soulbelly BBQ (Las Vegas, NV)
Burt Bakman – Trudy’s Underground Barbecue (L.A.)
Chris Bianco – Pizzeria Bianco (L.A., Phoenix, AZ)
Clark Staub and Jill Davie – Full of Life Flatbread (Los Alamos, CA)
Daisy Ryan – Bell’s Restaurant (Los Alamos, CA)
Dan Richer – Razza (Jersey City, NJ)
David Lentz, Stephanie Mutz, Boe Delashmutt, and Harry Liquornik – Sea Stephanie Fish (L.A.)
Donald Link – Herbsaint & Peche Seafood Grill (New Orleans, LA)
Drew Nieporent – Nobu 57 (New York, NY)
Drew Rosenberg – CUT by Wolfgang Puck (L.A.)
Franklin Becker – Point Seven (New York, NY)
Fred Eric – PI^LA Pizza (L.A.)
Gary Chau – Caffe Luxxe (L.A.)
Gavin Fine – Fine Dining Restaurant Group (Jackson Hole, WY)
Giada De Laurentiis – GIADA (Las Vegas, NV)
Irene Widjaya – Downtown LA Proper Hotel, Cara Cara (L.A.)
Jason Paluska – The Lark Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
Jason Winters – Speak Cheezy (L.A.)
Jazz Singsanong – Jitlada (L.A.)
Jeremy Fox and Matthew Schaler – Birdie G’s (Santa Monica, CA)
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo – Jon & Vinny’s (L.A.)
Jonathan Sundstrom – Lark Seattle (Seattle, WA)
Jonathan Waxman – Barbuto (New York, NY)
Josiah Citrin – Augie’s on Main (Santa Monica, CA)
Kevin Meehan – Kali Restaurant (L.A.)
Kris and Sarah Yenbamroong – Night + Market (Venice, CA)
Kris Longley and Erik Lopez – Hollywood Bowl (L.A.)
Kristin Feuer – McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams (Santa Barbara, CA)
Laurel Amerinda – Huckleberry (Santa Monica, CA)
Lord Maynard Llera – Kuya Lord (L.A.)
Ludo Lefebvre – Petit Trois (L.A.)
Marc Vetri – Vetri Cucina Las Vegas at the Palms (Philadelphia, PA, Las Vegas, NV)
Matt Molina – Hippo (L.A.)
Melody Bishop and Dennis Kelley – Written by the Seasons (Dallas, TX)
Mercedes Rojas – The Arepa Stand (L.A.)
Michael Reed – Poppy & Seed, Poppy + Rose (Anaheim, CA)
Michael Fiorelli – Fiorelli Pizza (L.A.)
Michael Schwartz – The Genuine Hospitality Group (Miami, FL)
Michael Cimarusti – Connie and Ted’s, Providence (L.A.)
Nancy Silverton – Mozza Restaurant Group (L.A.)
Nancy Oakes and Dana Younkin – Boulevard (San Francisco, CA)
Neal Fraser – Redbird (L.A.)
Nok Suntaranon – Kalaya (Philadelphia, PA)
Ori Menashe – Bestia (L.A.)
Paul Kahan and Dylan Patel – Avec (Chicago, IL)
Richard Pink – Pink’s Hot Dogs (L.A.)
Robbie Tutlewski – Little Donna’s (Baltimore, MD)
Rocco Whalen – Fahrenheit (Cleveland, OH, Charlotte, NC)
Sherry Yard – Bakery by the Yard (Manhattan Beach, CA)
Steve Samson – Rossoblu (L.A.)
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken – Border Grill (L.A.)
Suzanne Goin – AOC (L.A.)
Valerie Gordon – Valerie Confections (L.A.)
Vivian Ku – Pine and Crane (L.A.)
William Bradley – Addison (San Diego, CA)
Wylie Dufresne – Stretch Pizza (NYC)
Zachary Pollack – Cosetta(Santa Monica)
Zak Walters – Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood (Oklahoma City, OK)
*lists subject to change
*All chefs graciously donate their time, food and talent to the cause for this event***
For more information, visit www.lalal.org
Mini FAQ
When does the Chef Sponsor Program run?
July through October 15, 2026. Lucky Penny in Santa Barbara joins later, from September 15 through October 15, so plan that one for the back half of the season.
How do kids join the Alex’s Lemonade Kids’ Campaign?
Register a lemonade stand or an online fundraising page and commit to raising $300. To sign up, email campaign chair Charles Lentz at [email protected].
What do participants get for raising $300?
One free adult ticket to the L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade dinner, plus a spot in the on-stage check presentation to Alex’s family.
Pick a night, pick a restaurant
Pick a night, pick a restaurant on the list, and order the featured dish. That is genuinely the whole ask, and it is a good one.
If there is a kid in your life who has been eyeing a summer project, $300 and a folding table is a better one. Email Charles Lentz to register, get the family fed at Providence or Mozza on the way, and help push a decade of lemonade past $600,000.
