Katy ISD Education Foundation’s Dine Out to Donate Returns Sept. 16 With 31 Restaurant Locations Supporting Teachers
For Katy-area families wondering how to support local teachers without adding another fundraiser to an already busy calendar, the answer on Wednesday, Sept. 16, may be as simple as deciding where to eat.
The Katy ISD Education Foundation’s Dine Out to Donate returns Sept. 16, 2026, bringing restaurants and residents together for an all-day, community-wide spirit day benefiting teachers across Katy ISD. The current 2026 lineup includes 31 participating restaurant locations throughout Katy and Fulshear, with additional restaurants expected to be announced.
That means residents can take part while grabbing coffee before work, meeting a friend for lunch, picking up an afternoon treat or making dinner a family outing — while helping support the Education Foundation’s work in Katy ISD classrooms.
Dine Out to Donate Connects Katy Restaurants With Local Schools
Dine Out to Donate is designed to make supporting Katy ISD teachers a community effort, with local restaurants participating throughout the day on Sept. 16.
The Education Foundation is encouraging families to plan ahead, make reservations where appropriate and tell friends about the event, particularly as participating restaurants could see additional traffic from supporters.
The 2026 restaurant list currently includes:
- Astor's Table
- Black Walnut Kitchen and Bar
- Cafe Petra Greek & Lebanese — Katy Firethorne and Katy Green Trails
- Chicken Salad Chick — Mason and Cinco Ranch
- Chuckwagon BBQ & Burgers
- Cowboy Coast Coffee Co.
- First Watch — Katy Grand, Fulshear and Price Plaza
- Great Harvest Bread Co.
- Humble Grounds Coffeehouse — Fulshear and Katy
- Jimmy Changas
- Kilwins - Katy Mills
- Kolache Factory — Westheimer Parkway, FM 1463 and S. Fry Road
- Midway BBQ
- Orleans Seafood Kitchen — Fulshear and Katy
- Outback Steak House
- Palinuro Italian Cuisine
- PJ's Coffee of New Orleans - Katy Grand Morton
- Sonoma Wine & Cheese - Katy
- Southern Dough Baking Company
- Tad’s Louisiana Cooking
- The Peach Cobbler Factory Katy
- Toasted Yolk Cafe
- Tobiuo Sushi & Bar
Because the Education Foundation notes that more restaurants are coming soon, residents planning to participate may want to check the official Dine Out to Donate restaurant list again as Sept. 16 approaches.
Local restaurants interested in joining the 2026 Dine Out to Donate program can also complete the Education Foundation’s restaurant sign-up form.
Why the Katy ISD Education Foundation’s Work Matters
Dine Out to Donate supports a larger mission that has been taking shape in Katy ISD classrooms for more than a decade.
The Katy ISD Education Foundation connects individuals, businesses and community partners with teachers and students throughout the district. Its primary work centers on Inspiring Imagination teacher grants, which fund innovative classroom programs and give educators resources to expand learning opportunities beyond what a traditional classroom budget may provide.
The scope of that work has grown considerably. According to the Foundation’s 2025 Grants at a Glance report, it is celebrating $4 million in grants since 2013, with grants reaching campuses across Katy ISD.
In 2025 alone, the Foundation reported:
- 53 campuses reached
- $514,000 awarded
- 72,179 students reached
The Foundation also reports that the cumulative number of student impacts over 14 years has surpassed 578,000, noting that many grant-funded programs and materials are reusable and can continue serving students in future school years.
Those numbers help explain why a restaurant-focused fundraiser can have an impact well beyond a single day. Community support ultimately helps teachers pursue ideas that may otherwise be difficult to fund through normal classroom resources.
One example highlighted by the Foundation comes from Stephens Elementary, where teacher Stacy Slater received support for a coding-focused program.
“This grant has allowed us to maintain a dedicated space for coding where students explore programming concepts. As a result, students are gaining confidence in their technical skills and are more likely to see themselves in future STEM Careers.”
The Foundation identifies Slater’s program as STEMSPACE – Keep Coding at the Coding Corner, illustrating the kinds of hands-on opportunities its grants can help teachers bring to students.
A Community-Wide Way to Support Katy ISD Teachers
For residents, one of the appeals of Dine Out to Donate is its simplicity. Instead of attending a separate fundraiser, families can incorporate the event into something they may already be doing on Sept. 16 — eating at a Katy or Fulshear restaurant.
The event also gives participating restaurants an opportunity to connect their businesses with local schools and the families, educators and employees who make up the Katy ISD community.
With breakfast spots, coffeehouses, barbecue restaurants, seafood restaurants, bakeries, Italian cuisine, sushi and family dining among the current options, residents have choices across several parts of the Katy area.
For families searching for Katy events in September 2026, ways to support Katy ISD teachers, Katy ISD Education Foundation events or participating Dine Out to Donate restaurants near Katy, Sept. 16 offers a community-focused way to combine a meal out with support for classroom innovation.
What to Know Before Sept. 16
Dine Out to Donate takes place all day Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. Residents can choose from the participating restaurant list, plan ahead for potentially busier dining periods and watch for additional restaurants to join before the event.
The Education Foundation is also encouraging supporters to spread the word, making the day as much about neighbors rallying around teachers as it is about dining out.
For the Katy ISD Education Foundation, that community involvement has helped turn teacher ideas into classroom programs affecting hundreds of thousands of student experiences over the years. On Sept. 16, Katy-area residents will have another opportunity to contribute simply by choosing where they sit down — or stop in — for their next meal.
Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more Katy ISD updates, community events and opportunities to support local schools.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.Do you own a business?
