Among the obesity-themed art pieces displayed at the Flanders Gallery in downtown Raleigh, the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences held its annual Wine and Cheese Gala Saturday night.

The event, a decades-long tradition of the Department of Food Sciences, attracted a group of more than 200 students and faculty. Featuring 10 wines and cheeses in addition to a keg of the department’s own beer, the largest social food science event represented another great year and an opportunity to give to charity, Jennifer Lu, a Ph.D. candidate in food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences said.

“[The Wine and Cheese Gala] is an event that the club has been hosting for a number of years,” said Suzanne Johanningsmeier, an assistant professor in food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences. “It’s a nice opportunity for faculty and students to network in a more relaxed environment. I was a student at this department back in ‘96 and it had already been going on for a few years then. The event pre-dates me.”

This year, Lu was charged by her peers to help organize the event as one of the co-chairs in the Wine and Cheese Gala committee.

“I’ve been in the States for five years,” Lu said. “Every year, I would come to the Wine and Cheese event. It’s the most popular event in our department.”

While the charity aspect of the event is a relatively new addition to the gala’s long history, with about five years as a partner to Wine to Water, a North Carolina-based faith-based nonprofit organization, Lu said it has become an essential part of the event and an aspect she was eager to be a part of.

“I feel like the priority is the charity,” Lu said. “However, by doing this, we bring people together to socialize and build relationships and bond. It’s a thing for everyone to look forward to. If we get together and have fun while helping others, we feel great.”

This year, Lu said the department and the student organizations set aside $4,000 to fund the event. Last year, she said the event raised more than $1,000 for Wine to Water.

In addition to its charity mission, Kimberly Spence, a masters student in nutrition and co-chair of the Wine and Cheese committee, said she also hoped attendees were able to learn a little about wine and cheese pairings from graduate student volunteers and undergraduate volunteers from the Food Science Club, a 60-member student organization whose goal is to help inform the public about food science.

“[The Gala] brings together really nice wines and really nice cheeses and students that may not be able to afford a normal wine tasting like this,” Spence said. “This year, we really focused on education by putting education cards on tables. We want students to learn about wine, learn about cheese and how to pair them.”