Hot Sauce Festival fans turn up the heat on the fight to end hunger

If August in Central Texas just isn’t hot enough for you, you probably had a blast at the 24th annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.

Thousands of people turned out to Fiesta Gardens on Sunday to enjoy live music and abuse their taste buds for a great cause. Your generosity and unyielding love of all things spicy helped us raise more than 39,000 meals and counting for Central Texans facing hunger.

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Thank you to the Austin Chronicle for hosting this great festival that has benefited the Food Bank for more than two decades, and to our volunteers for making this event possible. And, of course, thank you to everyone who came out. Whether you donated food or cash, bought raffle tickets or merchandise, your support means we can be there for our neighbors when they need us most.

Couldn’t make it to the festival? Don’t worry. You can still make a difference by entering our Sizzlin’ Summer Raffle. Get tickets online now for your chance to win one of three sizzling hot prize packages valued at over $1,000 each. But hurry. Ticket sales end promptly at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, August 31.

You can view the 2014 Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival contest winners online here. Caution: the contents of this list are extremely hot.