Useful Food News

From improving web sites for parents to community fundraisers to free food for schoolchildren, these bloggers are very busy making a difference.  You can help, too.  Read on.

New Site Functions and Interactivity

Busy foodie parents, your life just got easier and more fun.  Nicole at A Family That Eats Together has reoriented her site to your family’s needs.  Her new theme is kid-friendly recipes that are time and energy efficient, packed with flavor, and anything but the same old thing.  To this end, she has added features including “Weekly Meal Planner,” which will be her own meal plan for the week.  Recipes now have links above them, including “Add to Plan,” which allows readers to create their own meal plan, and “Add to List,” which will create their shopping list.  This particular feature is very exciting, because it also prepares the list by readers’ stores of choice, and conveniently sends the list to their smart phones.  Visit her site for more features, to share your recipes, and join in the foodie family dialogue.

For those who love a good cooking show, Clare at Calm Mind Busy Body offers YouTube videos on her site.  Just click the button in the right margin for demos of Stovetop Pineapple Broccoli Mini Pizzas, Portobello Mushroom Burgers, Zucchini Fritters, Lowfat Blueberry Pancakes, Smoothies and Shakes, Homemade Chewy Apple Dog Treats, and more.

Oct. 1, 2011: Texas Wildfire Recovery Fundraiser

Ren at Edible Aria shares the link and info on Austin Bakes for Bastrop, including photo and video of the 2011 Texas wildfire catastrophe.  The Oct. 1st one-day bake sale with seven locations is a grassroots effort by the Austin Community Foundation to help those organizations directly impacting those affected by the the worst wildfire in the state’s history.  For donors too distant to attend, there is an online giving link.

Oct. 1-2, 2011: California Childhood Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Fundraiser

To prevent childhood obesity and its running buddy, Type 2 diabetes, Susan at Food Blogga encourages everyone to support Heart of the Harvest, an Oct. 1-2 fundraiser for Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center in National City, outside of San Diego, CA.  Olivewood provides low-income families, especially children, with opportunities to raise healthy foods, and training to prepare them in tasty, beneficial ways.  The fun includes dinner by A-list San Diego chefs, music and art under the stars one day, and fun, games and food demos the next.  Tickets are only $15 if you’re over 12yo, and you can buy them online.

US: Starting Sept. 26, 2011 (weekly for 6 weeks): Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms

Dina at Just Another New Blog and Del Monte are also teaming up via “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” to improve children’s access to, and education about, fresh, healthy foods.  Every Monday, beginning today and for six weeks more, parents can vote for all the K-12 teachers (who register with the program) of their choice.  The top ten teachers get $1,000 cash for their classrooms, plus fresh fruit for snacks.  In addition, weekly winners will receive a Del Monte Field Fresh Day for their entire school!  And three readers (anyone who enters) will win $25 gift certificates to be awarded at Just Another New Blog.  So go call your teachers!

You can make a difference.  Whether you vote for teachers, or support a fundraiser to improve the nutrition of underprivileged children, or to re-build a torched Texas community.  If you haven’t enough money to spare, you can spread the word about these worthy activities.  Give back to yourself and your family by taking advantage of the organization tools and fun offered by thoughtful food bloggers.

Have a great week!