Middle Tennessee residents will have a chance to fill their bellies with delicious chilies, soups, stews and gumbos from over 30 cooking teams at the 11th Annual Cookin' To Build event on Saturday, Nov. 3, 11 am - 1:30 pm on the Murfreesboro Town Square. The popular food event raises money for Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity to help build safe, energy-efficient and affordable homes for low-income families across Rutherford County.

Cooking teams from organizations, groups, churches, schools and local businesses prepare the food for for free, as a way to help support the Habitat for Humanity mission. Teams will also vie for prizes as attendees vote for their favorites. Previous winners include Site Hawk, Dani Amendola, The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department, Mid South Bank, and Oakland Middle School, who won again in 2017.

This is the 11th year for the popular Cookin' To Build event, which is held every year in early November. Tickets for the event are $20 and include a painted pottery bowl to take home, "all you can eat" from the food booths, free dessert and drinks and musical entertainment. Event tickets are available at the event. Ticket holders who also painted a bowl at The Pottery Place during early registration can get in a half hour early, at 10:30 am. The Pottery Place also donates the bowls for the other ticketed attendees. The many colorfully painted bowls are a highlight of the event!

Looking Back to Previous Events:

Previous Cookin' To Build events raised over $15,000 each year and helped build many Habitat houses including the 2017 Women Build for the Oriz family on Johnson Street in Smyrna and the 2017 Veterans Build on Douglas Ave. in Murfreesboro for Navy veteran Anika Taylor. Sponsors for the 2018 Cookin To Build event are Nissan USA, The Pottery Place, Atmos Energy, Knights of Columbus, and CSL Plasma. Additional funding is from HomeAdvisor.com, Kroger, Ascend Federal Credit Union, and Priority Staffing.

More About Habitat:

Habitat does not give houses away but instead helps families who would not qualify for a mortgage and provides the financial education and guidance for them to buy a house, at no profit to Habitat, through a 0-interest mortgage. In addition to a mandatory 50-hour financial and homeowner education program, they must complete 300-400 hours of "sweat equity". Habitat Partner Families are then equipped to sustain their home, manage their money and move out of the cycle of poverty.

When: Saturday, Nov. 3, 11:00am - 1:30pm
10:30 a.m. Pre-Registration and bowl painters get in half hour early
Where: Murfreesboro Town Square