Menu for Hope 6: Raffle Bid Item

Menu for Hope is an annual charitable event from food bloggers around the world. Participating food bloggers offer food related prizes for the raffle. For each $10 donated anyone can earn a virtual raffle ticket to bid on any of the prizes of their choice. At the end of the two week menu for hope campaign the raffle tickets are drawn and the prize winners announced on Chez Pim.

This is my first year participating as a contributor to menu for hope (what a coincidence, this is the first year I have a blog during the holiday season as well). Pictured above is my raffle bid item for Menu for Hope 6 which can be bid on as item UE23

Bid Item UE23: The Vermont Foodie Gift Basket and Essential Canning Tools

Boyden Valley Vineyard Ice Wine

Fat Toad farm Traditional Goat's Milk Caramel

7 oz Bag Dakin Farm Vermont Maple Kettle Corn

9 oz jar Butternut Mountain Farm Maple Butter

8 oz Jar of my homemade Tomato Orange Marmalade. This is my 7 year old son, Sebastian's favorite topping for everything from toast to bagels. I love it as well but for me it is not a food group. It is also wonderful as an accompaniment to a wine and cheese course.

8 oz's of any of the wonderful and often award winning Vermont cheeses available to me in Burlington Vermont (I am guessing this is all of them).

Essential Canning Tools: Jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter, canning funnel and a superior canning rack. The canning rack that comes with most water bath canners is just a reason to curse, they allow the jars to fall sideways and on top of each other. This one keeps all the jars straight, just where you place them. It will fit inside any stock pot with a diameter of 12.5 inches or greater.

In addition the winning bidder can e-mail me with any water bath canning questions or concerns. A note on shipping, while I have placed no shipping restrictions on this package the winner should let me know of any restrictions on food or wine. In addition the winner is responsible for any customs duty.

A complete list of this years bid items can be found here. So make sure to bid on item UE23 as well as many other delectable offerings on the First Givings Page.

To Donate to Menu for Hope and Enter the Raffle:

1. Choose a bid item or bid items from the Menu for Hope Bid Item List

2. Go to the donation page at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3. Specify which bid item or items you would like in the "Personal Message" section on the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write how many tickets per item, please remember to use the donation code (mine is UE23)

Each $10 donation you make will entitle you to one bid item of your choice. For example a $50 donation could be 5 tickets for UE23 (5xUE23) or it could be 3 tickets for UE23 and 2 for EU01 (3xUE23, 2xEU01)

4. If your company matches your charitable donations, please check the box and fill in the information so we may claim the corporate match.

5. Please make sure to check the box that allows us to see your e-mail address so we can contact you if you win. We will not share your e-mail address with anyone else.

Check Chez Pim on Monday January 18th for the results of the raffle.

Thank you!

Menu for Hope 6 Call for Participation

Menu for Hope is a annual charitable event that was created by Pim from Chez Pim. Food Bloggers from around the world donate prizes for the Menu for Hope Raffle. For every $10 donated anyone can be included in the prize drawing for 1 prize of their choosing. At the end of the 2 weeks the virtual raffle winners are drawn and the winners announced on Chez Pim. this year all the proceeds from Menu for Hope will go to a new program from the World Food Bank called Purchase for Progress. Purchase for Progress buys food to feed hungry people directly from local farmers in the same country. This will provide more economic stability to the country by supporting the farmers and their employees while feeding their hungry. To me it feels like a step beyond teaching a man to fish, providing stability to local farmers can help a whole community to fish. More information on Purchase for Progress can be found here

For any other food bloggers out there I urge you to take part in Menu for Hope 6. It is a great way to help those in need while getting new traffic for your blog. For me it feels right to help those in need of food while I have the time to photograph and savor what we have. As someone who often cannot afford all that I would like to feed my family it is nice to remember how much we do have and share with others in greater need. If you are interested in participating all the information you need can be found at Chez Pim and her Call for Participation.

I am trying to construct a raffle prize that at least 20 people will bid on. Some times it feels like am talking to myself here, although the statistics say otherwise, so I am a little leery of assuming my loyal readers will bid. The package I am planning on will have some Vermont treasures as well as tools that I feel are essential in my kitchen. If there is something that would drive you to bid, please let me know. Check back here on December 14th for my prize announcement as well as Chez Pim for the entire list. You can search by prize type or find a prize in your area by searching by region. I can assure you from previous years there will be some amazing prizes.