A Menu for Hope

A Menu for Hope



You may have read my first post about making pancetta. It was absolutely delicious — best pancetta I've ever eaten — but rather ugly because the pork belly was small, uneven, and I couldn't control the humidity during the air cure. My second venture was equally delicious and much more appetizing in appearance. Best of all, on the second effort I made an entire half belly.

I say "best of all" because I've decided to offer half a pound of it in support of A Menu for Hope. This is a charity auction with the proceeds to go to the UN World Food Programme.

Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen (one of my favorite bloggers) volunteered to coordinate the Midwest and Southeast (dealing with both Lutherans and Baptists can't be easy) and here's what she has to say.

"Funds from the 2007 campaign will be earmarked for a school food program in Lesotho, a tiny country entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, where one out of twelve kids die before the age of five and 56% of the population live on less than $2 per day.

Food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone can buy raffle tickets online (through a site called Firstgiving) to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of your choice. This year bidding on prizes will take place December 10-21. At the end of the two-weeks, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim."

There's something wonderfully circular about buying food to give food. And if you're wondering what to do with the pancetta, my second post offers several ideas, but I'm currently planning on cutting some up into a 1/4" dice, cooking it, and then serving it on toothpicks with dried figs at a Christmas party. Figs and bacon? That's got to be a killer bite. The prize code for the pancetta is UC14.

You can find a list of prizes here and here.

Here's How to Participate in A Menu for Hope:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim. (Check the morning of December 10 to see all the prizes.)

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 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 could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win.Your email address will not be shared with anyone. Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday Jaunary 9 for the results of the raffle.

Technorati: Food | online event | kevin d weeks | seriously good | menu for hope