Something I would never expect happened to me today. I was browsing in the baking section at one of my favorite cooking supply stores and day dreaming about baking. I know. It’s a miracle. Or maybe it’s the Food Blogging Bake Sale for Share our Strength that’s got me thinking about something other than getting over my fear of baking.
Today is a day dedicated to all things baked because I’m helping with all sorts of preparations for tomorrow’s nation wide bake sale. The second annual Los Angeles Foodblogger Bakesale—organized by the fabulous and extraordinary Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking—is the flagship city for the nation-wide event that gathers the nation’s top bloggers/food writers/and chefs to raise money for Share our Strength, an organization striving to eradicate childhood hunger in America by 2015. I’m excited to be part of this talented pool of food lovers who are gathering up all their best baked goods to bring awareness to this very real problem that’s happening in your city and, more than likely, in your neighborhood.
I couldn’t think of a better reason to spend all day in the kitchen.
Several months back I shared a deeply personal story about a difficult time in my life when I was a hungry kid. Luckily, childhood hunger wasn’t something I had to face for a very long time, but those early experiences of asking for help and being denied assistance changed me. Having a door slammed in your face when you’re a hungry kid has a way of affecting your relationship with food and the rest of the world. It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable sharing my story, but I knew it was important to reveal the honest truth to bring light to a subject matter that many people believe only affects a marginal group of people in our country.
But the fact is, at least one kid in ten is hungry in America. Not just in the cities. Not just in the poor rural areas. In just about every school in America, there are kids struggling to find food to fill their empty bellies.
There’s more hunger in the classrooms than you’d care to believe. In rural and urban schools, a majority of kids (65%) aren’t getting fed well at home and must rely on school lunches for their main source of nutrition. Considering the fact that many children must rely on schools to feed them, SOS has a number of summer lunch programs in place to make sure summer vacation is something all kids can look forward to.
So whether or not you are in Los Angeles or are near another city that’s hosting a Food Blogger Bake Sale, you can donate a few dollars here to support the cause. And if you are in Los Angeles and have something of a sweet tooth or want something healthy and good, I highly recommend you swing by BLD (7450 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036) for a treat. You will not be disappointed.
Alabama
Hosted by Alison and Jason of Ingredients, Inc and The Messy Epicure (Birmingham)
On the corner of 18th Street and 29th Avenue in downtown Homewood (10:00 – 3:00)
Alaska
Hosted by Laura of What’s for Dinner Mom?
Arizona
Hosted by Janet of La Due Crew (Scottsdale)
Scottsdale 5th and Wine (7051 E. 5th Avenue Scottsdale, AZ 85251)
Arkansas
Hosted by Christie of Fancy Pants Foodie (North Little Rock)
6th and Main, North Little Rock – Adjacent to Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market
California
Hosted by Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking (Los Angeles)
BLD Restaurant (7450 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90036) (11:30am – 2pm)
Hosted by Anita, Annelies, Shauna and Irvin (San Francisco)
18 Reasons, 593 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (10 AM – 6 PM)
Kiehl’s, 2360 Fillmore St, San Francisco CA 94115 (12 PM – 4PM)
Hosted by Marie of Meandering Eats (San Diego)
Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School (Pacific Plaza – 1788 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109) 10:00 – 2:00
Hosted by Veronica of Muy Bueno Cookbook (Valencia)
Westfield Valencia Town Center Shopping Center – Sisley’s and TGIF entrance (24201 West Valencia Blvd. Valencia, Ca 91355)
3pm – 7pm
Hosted by Charlie of Charlie Bakes (Palo Alto)
Town and Country Village (in Palo Alto) near Peet’s coffee (10am – 4pm)
Colorado
Hosted by Yvette of Muy Bueno Cookbook (Littleton)
Highlands Ranch Music Arts Festival at Civic Green Park (11 a.m.-8 p.m)
Florida
Hosted by Renée of Flamingo Musings (Miami)
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables FL from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m
Hosted by Julie of The Little Kitchen (Central Florida)
Cork and Olive Wine Bar & Store (storefront) located at 4247 W. Lake Mary Blvd in Lake Mary
Georgia
Hosted by Tami of Running with Tweezers (Atlanta)
Phipps Plaza – in front of the Williams-Sonoma store during the Luxury Living Show. (10 am – onwards)
Illinois
Hosted by Maris of In Good Taste (Chicago)
The Poison Cup 1128 W Armitage Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60614 (Time: 12:00 – 3:00)
Kansas
Hosted by Nikki of Adventures in Baking (Lawrence)
1729 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, KS, 66044 (8am – 1pm)
Massachusetts
Hosted by Kathy of Mother May Have (Somerville/Boston)
Minnesota
Hosted by Kate of Kate in the Kitchen (Minneapolis/St.Paul)
Midtown Global Market, 920 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN 55407 (11am – 4pm)
Missouri
Hosted by Stef of Cupcake Project, Kimberly of Rhubarb and Honey and Andrew of Andrew Mark Veety (St. Louis)
Sappington Farmers’ Market (8400 Watson Road St. Louis) from 10-2
Nevada
Hosted by Julie of Peanut Butter and Julie / Julie Anne’s All Natural Granola
Kiehl’s at Forum Shoppes at Caesars 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South 89109 (12:00 – 5:00pm)
New Jersey
Hosted by Amanda of Our Italian Kitchen
Heaven Hill Farm and Garden Center (451 New Jersey Rt 94 Vernon, NJ 07462) 10:00 am – 4:00pm
New York
Hosted by Maggy of Three Many Cooks (New York City)
Kiehl’s 109 3rd ave New York, NY 10003
Hosted by Shelby of The Life & Loves of Grumpys Honeybunch (Albany)
North Carolina
Hosted by Matt of Green Eats Blog and Johanna of Johanna Kramer (Durham)
Vega Metals, 214 Hunt Street, Durham, NC (right around the corner from the Durham Farmers’ Market)
Ohio
Hosted by Rachel of Pearl Strings (Dayton, Ohio)
The Greene Shopping Centre in at their community booth from 12pm-4pm
Oklahoma
Hosted by Ashley of Cinnamon Vanilla (El Reno)
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Red Barn @ Canadian County Historical Museum 300 S. Grand El Reno, OK 73036
Pennsylvania
Hosted by Julie of Ella Rose Entertaining (Philadelphia)
A Full Plate Cafe – 1040 N. American Street – Philadelphia, PA 19123
Texas
Hosted by Bonnie of Sweet Life Bake (Edinburg)
Edinburg Texas Market Days. (8am to 2pm)
Hosted by Stephanie of Sunny Sweets (Houston)
Kiehl’s 4076 Westheimer Rd., Houston, TX 77027
Washington
Hosted by Keren of Frantic Foodie (Seattle)
Uptown Metropolitan Market 100 Mercer St, Seattle (9:30 Am to Noon)
Hosted by Rachel of The Fromagette (Bellingham)
Village Books 1200 11th street Bellingham WA 98225 (10am – 12pm)
Good luck with the bake sale. I agree with you that it is tragic how many people are unable to feed themselves. we all need to work together to find ways to supply these people with work.
It was so nice to meet you today! Your granola rocks and I’m savoring every morsel! Wished I had bought 5 bags! Take care!
The good news is, that granola recipe is super easy. We have Carrie Vitt to thank for originating that recipe. I simply tweaked it with the tiniest of adjustments. The batch you got I used less sugar and replaced the maple syrup with a Trader Joe’s Agave/maple syrup blend. Great to meet you! What a great day!