Dine Out For Packard in Los Altos is Thursday

On April 19, you can eat your cake—or perhaps pie, at —and donate, too.

For the fourth year, dozens of local restaurants in Los Altos, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto are donating a portion of their sales to support children receiving care at the at Stanford. The hospital celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.

You can have your morning coffee or even breakfast, eat lunch, have a mid-afternoon break, dinner, and dessert, and know that some of your money goes to Packard Children's Hospital.

Dine Out for Packard provides a way for customers and restaurants in Los Altos, Menlo Park and Palo Alto to donate to to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital on one day.

The proceeds from the day’s event go to support the Lucile Packard Children’s Fund, which supports services not covered by insurance to patients and families at the hospital. Any local child can receive care at the hospital regardless of ability to pay.

More than 80 restaurants, coffee houses and other establishments are participating, a 40 percent increase over last year, said Samantha Go, community events manager.

Details of how much of a donation is given, and what time windows the dining-for-donations take place (lunch, dinner, after dinner, all day) are found on the Dine Out For Packard website. Some businesses require a flyer.

The bulk of restaurants donate 10-20 percent of sales. But, particularly in Palo Alto, the percentage is higher. One business, the San Francisco Soup Company, is donating 50 percent of sales, a few are donating 30 percent, some 25 percent. 

The biggest percentage of sales donations comes from , at the Stanford Shopping Center, is donating 100 percent of its sales of its popular Red Velvet Cupcake (vegan and gluten-free versions, too, because this is, of course, the Bay Area). Last year was the first time it participated, and offered the Red Velvet Cupcake, then. 

"It's our best selling flavor, so it's a great jump-off point to highlight the event," said Palo Alto Sprinkles general manager Lillian Choi. It's the the most popular cupcake across the ten-store privately owned chain which started in Beverly Hills and just opened in New York, Choi said. The cupcakes for $3.50 apiece, with a small price break, $39.00, for a dozen. From last year's great response, it appears that people are getting ready to buy big, she said.

"We've gotten a few phone calls for people who are waiting to place an order of up to a few dozen in advance," Choi said. "So, we want to make sure we have a good supply of Red Velvet." 

Read carefully to see when purchases are eligible for donations: 

Dine Out for Packard Los Altos 

Dine Out for Packard Menlo Park

Dine Out for Packard Palo Alto 

In Los Altos, Spot Pizza and Marie Callender's are donating 20 percent of sales, and Spot Pizza is offering donation eligibility for purchases made all day. Offering 10 percent of sales at varying times are: Baskin Robbin, Bumble, New Wing Wah, Peet's (bean purchases only), Rick's Cafe and Round Table Pizza. Los Altos Patch has attached the relevant flyers on this article, as well.