Yo! Do I look like I belong on a menu? I don't think so. And get your mitts off my mizuna!
As you can see, Whitey's foray into motherhood (which is so over, by the way) didn't soften her up one bit. At nearly eight years old, she's as feisty as ever - and having a grand time bossing everybody around. The other day she even laid an egg.
But this post isn't about Whitey The Chicken (though she would like it to be, and I do realize that an update about her and her chicks is long overdue); it's about the Menu For Hope food bloggers' fundraiser which raised a whopping $91,188.00 this year! Through the UN World Food Programme, over 86% of this money will go directly to an innovative school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa which helps not only hungry children but local family farms as well.
Thanks for all of your generous donations, to the dozens of prize donors and the regional hosts, and to Pim for creating this powerful event. Every year it just gets bigger and better. We had a stunning array of prizes raffled off this year, including some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. You'll find the complete list of prizes and winners here.
As for who won the phone call from a foodie farmgirl? A big congratulations goes to longtime Farmgirl Fare reader (and huge fan of my Oatmeal Toasting Bread recipe) Jane Gardner. I'm looking forward to chatting with her and am curious to see what questions she has for me.
And if you were one of the other bidders on my prize (thank you!), you're in luck. I'm going to be offering another phone call from this foodie farmgirl as an incentive for you to donate $10 during a very special January fund drive for one of my favorite charities, A Place To Bark, which is run by one of the most amazing people in the world, artist and animal lover extraordinaire Bernie Berlin.
More details will be posted here in a day or two, but if you hate waiting and want to find out right this minute how your $10, 100% straight to the animals, tax-deductible donation to A Place To Bark will be automatically doubled, then possibly turned into $50,000, which would then be turned into a much needed shelter building for the hundreds of unwanted dogs and cats Bernie rescues each year, you can pop over to A Place To Bark and read this post. Oh yeah, and you might even win one of several great prizes, too.
Thanks again to all of you who helped make this year's Menu For Hope such a tremendous success. We couldn't have done it without you!
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog that's sometimes taken over by a small chicken with a big attitude.
Once again it's time for Menu For Hope, the annual fundraiser created by food blogger Pim Techamuanvivit to raise money for a worthwhile, food-related cause. Last year we raised a whopping $63,925 for the UN World Food Programme, the world’s largest food aid agency, which works with over 1,000 other organizations in over 80 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people become self-reliant so they escape hunger for good.
This year we'll be working with the WFP again, and the donated funds from Menu For Hope will be specifically earmarked for a school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. Instead of shipping surplus corn across the ocean, the WFP is buying directly from local subsistent farmers who practice conservation farming methods in Lesotho to feed the children there--and help keep them in school so that they learn the skills to feed themselves in the future.
How does Menu For Hope work? Food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle--you can read about all the prizes here. Once again there are some truly amazing donations. See below for how to buy your virtual raffle tickets.
So what am I donating this year? Well, I wanted to offer something totally unique, and because I get asked so many questions about my life on the farm, I came up with:
A Phone Call From A Foodie Farmgirl!
(Prize Code UC11)
Wanna Talk?
Thinking about moving to the country? Have questions about living on a farm? Wondering if you're crazy enough to trade your civilized existence for days spent wearing overalls, carrying a pitchfork, and hanging out down at the feed store? Well here's a chance to have your questions answered.
On the day of your choice, I'll call you and we'll chat for half an hour about whatever you like: country life, organic gardening, cooking and food, bread baking, raising sheep, putting up hay, starting a bakery, starting a blog, living 140 miles from the nearest mall and 30 miles from cell phone reception, the best place to buy rubber boots, how to process and vacuum seal a deer. . .
If you're a regular Farmgirl Fare reader, maybe you'd just like to hear more about Cary, Whitey The Chicken, or Donkey Doodle Dandy and his two new girlfriends. (I actually wanted to donate a phone call from Dan because I know it would sell a lot more raffle tickets, but he said no way. Maybe I can convince him to bray near the phone while we're talking. You truly have to hear him to believe the sounds he is capable of making.)
I'll don't know if I'll be able to answer all of your questions, but I can definitely guarantee there will be laughing involved. Unless of course you want to be really serious. Wait, strike that. I'm not capable of talking on the phone without laughing hysterically at some point. In any case, I'm looking forward to talking with you!
Note: This prize is limited to phone numbers within the U.S., but if you're in another country and are interested, I'd be happy to do a live chat online with you via gmail. I realize it's not the same thing as a phone call, but I figured I'd toss the option out there just in case. We can chat for longer than a half hour, and I do type very fast!
The prize code for the Phone Call From A Foodie Farmgirl is UC11.
Because I hope you'll also consider making a much needed donation to one of my favorite pet charities, I'm going to entice you by holding my own separate mini raffle for a second foodie farmgirl phone call. Your tax-deductible donations will go directly to A Place To Bark. . .And Meow, the non-profit animal rescue run by the truly incredible Bernie Berlin. (This year alone she saved 500 abused and abandoned dogs and cats from certain death.) I talked to Bernie about my raffle idea the other day and she's really excited about it, as am I. I'll post more details in the next few days.
In the meantime, why not go order a little something from the Menu For Hope? Here's what to do:
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim. Prizes from the Central U.S. region are also highlighted at Kalyn's Kitchen.
2. Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form. You must write in how many tickets per prize, and use the prize code. (Each $10 you donate will buy one virtual raffle ticket toward any prize. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02.)
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we can claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you if you win.Your email address will not be shared with anyone. Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9th for the results of the raffles.
Thank you all and good luck!
Copyright © 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.
