Food Bloggers Create A Recipe For Philanthropy In South Africa

By Nicole Gulotta,Guest blogger / February 18, 2014 Children play with old car tires in a street in the Katlehong Township, south east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. More than 100 food bloggers around the world launched a fundraising campaign this week to support The Lunchbox Fund, which helps provide meals to underserved schoolchildren in South Africa. Denis Farrell/AP/File Enlarge For many children in South Africa , a daily meal served in school is the only meal they will eat all day. In a country where 65 percentof children live in poverty and approximately 1.9 million of the countrys orphaned children have lost one or both parents as a result of HIV and AIDS, a generation of children have become heads of household, or are forced to strain modest government stipends allotted to their grandparents. At the end of the day, there are few resources left for food. Food Tank is a think tank focused on a feeding the world better. We conduct research and cultivate networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change. Recent posts RECOMMENDED: GMO, Organic, and seven other food labels you should know When children are hungry, they cant concentrate and their potential is stifled. Providing a daily meal at school encourages attendance and helps ensure that each child reaches their potential. The Lunchbox Fund, a South African NGO that fosters education through nutrition by providing a daily, nourishing meal to underserved schoolchildren, has stepped in to fill the gap left by the South African government, which can only provide school meals to 8 million of the countrys 12 million school-age children. By partnering with local organizations, recruiting grandmothers to cook and deliver meals, and monitoring attendance, The Lunchbox Fund is systematically working to help a generation of children lift themselves out of poverty and become nourished body and mind. In an effort to feed 100 schoolchildren a daily meal for one year, more than 100 food bloggers around the world launched a fundraising campaign today to support The Lunchbox Fund, and are aiming to raise US$5,000 to accomplish this. RECOMMENDED: Get your 2014 Emerging & Frontier Markets Forecast FREE. Feed South Africa was organized by The Giving Table, a website that mobilizes food bloggers to change the food system. Through social action campaigns that fit seamlessly into bloggers existing content strategies, The Giving Table achieves collective impact by leveraging shared networks and the power of crowdsourced activism. Bloggers constantly tell stories, develop recipes, and take photos for their websites, but today, theyre serving up a call to action that requests donations of just USFeed South Africa: Food Bloggers Create Recipe for Philanthropy$10. When we come together for one cause and each contribute what we can, amazing things can happen. To donate to this campaign, visit The Giving Tables fundraising page.
For the original version visit http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Bite/2014/0218/Food-bloggers-create-a-recipe-for-philanthropy-in-South-Africa

funny Atlanta Dating Stories

Anyone in the dating game knows a thing or two about good dates gone bad – spinach in the teeth, spilling wine on your date, running into an ex. And don't we all love reminiscing about these awful, sometimes shocking, and, at times, completely mortifying moments! Here are some memorable stories of dating disasters and how, in some cases, daters have managed to make the best of an uncomfortable situation and turn it into a successful love story.

All Choked Up

'It was a first date. We went out for Mexican and decided to split the shrimp ceviche appetizer. He started telling a really funny joke. The punch line came at the exact moment I was taking a bite, which caused me to inhale the shrimp. It lodged in my throat and suddenly I couldn't breath! The ceviche was pouring out of my mouth as I was making the universal 'choking' signal. My date came around and immediately started doing the Heimlich. The shrimp was finally freed and I was humiliated! I couldn't look him in the eye the rest of the date as I repeatedly kept apologizing for that frightful display.'

- Stacy, 46 Johns Creek

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

'There was this really cute girl who worked out at my gym. We were always flirting – telling each other 'nice form', winking from across the room. I decided to invite her to a concert I had gotten tickets for that my friend had bailed out on. When I arrived to pick her up, she came out the door – with a friend (totally inappropriate!). It turns out her friend had a ticket to the show as well but no one to go with. I figured my chances for any romantic connection were pretty much ruined. Turns out, I was wrong. I ended up having more fun and more in common with the friend than the girl from the gym. That was four years ago, and we've been together ever since.'

- Mark, 31 Vinnings

Rrrrrr

'I felt like a sexy, powerful woman as I pushed my date down on the couch and gave him a passion-fueled stare. I felt sexy and powerful, too, when I leaped to plant a big kiss on him. Can't say I felt too sexy or powerful, though, when my pants split right down the middle.'

- Marie, 38 Brookhaven

So, you think you're a tough guy?

'My buddies and I play a friendly game of football every Saturday afternoon and I had been dating this girl for a little bit, so I invited her to come watch me in action. I'm a decent athlete, and with my new girl watching, I was trying extra hard to impress her. I guess I was trying a little too hard to flirt and play, and missed a pass in my direction. As I attempted to catch it, I felt the ball completely jam my fingers. Protecting my masculinity, I shook it off and got back in the game. Every time I tried to grip the ball or catch a pass, I would feel excruciating pain. Finally, my hand got so swollen I had to go to the emergency room where we discovered I had shattered the bones in my hand. I was embarrassed with the up-to-my-elbow cast, but she showed her nurturing side and took care of me.'

- Kevin, 48 Duluth

Second Chances

'A few years ago, I was set up with a guy named Brien. Over the phone, we realized that we had a lot in common and great banter, and decided to meet in person for dinner. When we met, there was an instant attraction . . . but that's where it stopped. Both of us were apparently exhausted from work and defaulted to our 'I'm tired' behavior: I couldn't stop talking about myself and Brien was completely shut down, offering only monosyllabic responses. We left the date with very different impressions: Brien thought I was pompous and I though he was a dud. Over the next couple of days, I reflected that the match had been good 'on paper', so what went wrong? And why not give it a second chance? Brien must've been thinking the same thing because, despite lingering reservations, he called me suggesting a second get together. The second meeting was a revelation – it was like seeing each other for the first time . . . and we liked what we saw!'

- Sarah, 54 Atlanta

Not every date is perfect or turns out like you expected. The beauty of going on a date with someone new is that anything can and will happen. And if things go great or go a little haywire let us know by adding a comment.

What is your …funny, unbelievable, surprised, great, etc. dating story?