Feed Your Mind, Feed the Hungry

By Kathleen Daelemans

I watched a clip on the Today show this morning of a woman making mud cakes. She was barefoot and barely clothed with only a pair of shorts and a small t-shirt, not nearly enough to protect her from the elements. Stooped over a makeshift "stove" (dusty cloths carefully laid out over the dirt ground beneath her) she methodically prepared the food that has become the staple of her diet; cakes made from a mixture of mud, butter, salt, oil and water.

Using the back of a small spoon, the woman smears circles of the clay-like batter into thick-ish pancakes about four inches in diameter. The cakes are ready to eat when the sun has dried them out to cracker-bread crisp. Each cappuccino-colored meringue looking cake serves as an individual meal; sometimes the only meal she and millions of other men, women and children like her, will have all day.

I sat, stunned into silence as I watched Anne and her guest, Josette Sheeran, the Director of The World Food Programme discuss World Hunger. Each night, “almost one billion people around the world go to bed hungry.” I thought about what it would be like to put my nieces to bed each night with hungry stomachs and send them off to school with no breakfast, no lunch and no shoes. Every single day of their lives.

And then I thought about how absurd it was to try and imagine my nieces going without. They were not born into a life of poverty. They won the baby lottery and were born here, in the United States of America, to hard working parents. God willing, they will likely never experience true hunger. But there are infants, toddlers and teens and Moms and Dads with distended stomachs who have never known what it's like to feel full. These children, our children, God’s children, are no less deserving than my beautiful girls.

 

To whom much is given, much is expected

If you are reading this, you are among those to whom much has been given. You are sitting at a computer in a room with a chair and a desk and electricity. Even if you are in a library because you do not own a computer, even if you have a credit card bill or two or three charged to the limit, you are blessed and you are rich.

You will not sleep outside tonight. You will not have to beg or scavenge for your next meal. You will not give your only pair of shoes or your only coat to one of your children and go without yourself. You will not wake up with "no way out" and no social services to see you through difficult times. Through the luck of the draw and hard work, you have been spared. To whom much is given, much is expected.

Feed Your Mind and Feed Those in Need

During Anne’s interview, Ms. Sheeran described how one person has made a big difference. His website http://www.freerice.com has (so far) resulted in 850 Billion Grains of Rice being distributed through the The World Food Programme to those in need.

The site is dedicated to feeding young minds and filling hungry stomachs. Visitors are encouraged to answer multiple-choice questions on a variety of topics. “For each answer you get right, we donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Programme to help end hunger.” My six year old niece and I spent a half hour on the site playing word definition games, guessing the capitals of countries we’ve never heard of and identifying the artists of famous paintings.

We had an absolute ball. And we both learned a lot. The most extraordinary gift that came out of the time we spent together was watching her self esteem rise with every bowl of rice she earned for the children, that in her words and in her heart and soul, were “just like me, Auntie Kathy”. The gratitude in her eyes for having the opportunity to make a difference and to help those in need was truly humbling.

  “Many hands make light work”

 Absolutely everyone has  the freedom, the ability and the  means to make a difference. If you  want to help abolish mudcakes from the diets of people in need, go to http://www.freerice.com and play! Spread the word and spread the wealth. My niece and I earned 1820 grains of rice, just over 18 bowls! Now, we’re challenging you and yours to a rice-off!

I asked Maya what we should give out as the prize to the person who earns the most grains of rice, "Whoever earns the most grains of rice wins a huge rainbow in their heart, Auntie Kathy". Of course they do! "And please send pictures if your kitty sits on your lap (while you play).”

We Need You! 

In an effort to explore contributing on an even greater level, I’ve sent an email to Ms. Sheeran (Director of the World Food Program). I believe the culinary community (those who love to cook and those who love to eat) is a logical place to turn, to help end hunger. Obviously, there are many programs geared toward the homeless and hungry that many of us currently volunteer for, but I’m betting my next bar of chocolate there’s more that we can do. This is where you, the enthusiastic, resourceful and creative visionaries that you are, can help make more of a difference too.

As you well know, raising money usually entails community events, extravagant galas and WOW factor gimmicks. People like to have fun and they  certainly enjoy being entertained when they're parting with their hard earned money.

So please, put your chef’s toque on and send us all of your ideas (and pictures). Post them here or drop us a line:  kd@chefkathleen.com. The assignment: If you were the PR director for the The World Food Programme and you had 100 chefs willing to lend their “celebrity” to raise money for your organization, how would you utilize their talents to raise the most amount of money possible? We can’t wait to hear from you!

For more information on how you can help, log on to The World Food Programme's, How to Help Page.

Comments

[Sheri]

Outstanding post, Kathleen!