NEW ORLEANS– In the nine years that it’s been around, Hogs For the Cause has raised over a million dollars to help families of kids with pediatric brain cancer.

Make no mistake, it’s been an unqualified success!  A delicious party of bar-b-cue and grilling with over 90 teams this year, but nonetheless a party with a purpose.

We met up with Hogs co-founder Becker Hall outside the latest cause for “Hog’s,” dubbed Hog’s House at Children’s Hospital, and he told us how this project came to be.

“We were approached by Children’s Hospital, and they talked to us about this house that was available,” Hall says. “It’s about 14 rooms, where patients can stay with their whole families while their children are getting treated at Children’s Hospital. To us it was just kind of a no-brainer, and then when we got to see the building and how beautiful it it. And the plans for it, and really the need for it here in New Orleans it was, ‘Let’s do it!’ ”

The two-day food and music festival is March 31 and April 1 at their new digs on the grounds of the UNO Lakefront Arena. And while you’re enjoying all that great food this year, remember you’re helping in a big way.

“This gift that that Hogs has given us and given our community is really wonderful,” Mary Perrin, CEO and president of Children’s Hospital, said. “It’s about helping families when they need it most and where they need it most.  We couldn’t be happier for our families who are going through a difficult time.  We try to support them in so many ways, but this is just another way that support from the community can make their life a little bit easier during their diagnosis and treatment.”