Buffalo's Southwest Cafe feeds "hungry hogs" as part of March of Dimes "ride to save babies"

For the second consecutive year Buffalo's Southwest Cafe will feed approximately 2,000 hungry "hogs" this fall as presenting food sponsor of the 13th Annual March of Dimes "Ride to Save Babies." Buffalo's will feed all Ride participants on Sunday, Oct. 3, at Lakewood Exhibition Center.

This year's event runs Oct. 1-3 with various programs planned for each day and the actual ride on Oct. 3. The 24-mile ride, which starts and ends at Lakewood Exhibition Center, takes bikers on a police-escorted parade route through downtown Atlanta and Buckhead. For more information, call 404-350-9800, extension 213, or visit www.marchofdimesride.org.

"The March of Dimes Ride has become a 'must-ride' event for motorcycle enthusiasts from across metro Atlanta and Georgia. We look forward to feeding these dedicated hogs again in 2004," said Ralph Perrella, Buffalo's Southwest Cafe's president and co-founder.

In addition to providing food on Oct. 3, Buffalo's will host two special "wing" fundraising promotions. During May and August, customers dining at any one of the 25 metro-Atlanta Buffalo's Southwest Cafe locations can donate money to the March of Dimes Ride through the purchase of special paper Ride Wing logo cutouts. The spring wing promotion ends May 31. The summer wing promotion runs from Aug. 9 - Sept. 13. All donations to the Ride are tax-deductible.

Since 1992, the March of Dimes and the motorcycle community have partnered in the fight to save babies lives. Started in Atlanta, Ride to Save Babies has become March of Dimes- fastest-growing event, now taking place in more than 80 cities across the county including Baltimore, St. Louis and Orlando, Fla. The Atlanta Ride continues to be one of the largest motorcycle fundraising rides in the country, raising more than $4 million locally.

The mission of March of Dimes has always been to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. This mission is carried out through programs of research, community services, education and advocacy. For the past four years, March of Dimes has been committed to bringing Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) technology to the Georgia Newborn Screening Program. In Atlanta, 100 percent of rider donations go towards the funding of the expanded screening program, enabling doctors to test for up to 35 rare, genetic and non-genetic diseases. Currently, Georgia is one of eight states that does not charge for this test.

"Over the past 12 years, Atlanta's Ride has become a huge success in the fight to save the lives of Georgia's babies. Our current project with the expanded Georgia Newborn Screening Program will allow us to help doctors diagnose and treat the 133,000 Georgia babies born each year," said John Woodruff, Atlanta Ride co-chair and March of Dimes National Board of Trustee member.

Based in Marietta, Ga., Buffalo's Franchise Concepts was founded in 1985 and has approximately 45 restaurants in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Kuwait. The company has new units slated for construction in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas.