Ready. Set. Toast!!

Just Ducky

The Bread Art Project is a joint venture between the Grain Foods Foundation and Feeding America. This is a great way for artists to contribute. For each "slice" of art uploaded to the gallery, GFF sends $1 to Feeding America. There is no charge to the artist.

The Bread Art Project has a fun website showing slices of virtual bread with art images "toasted" into them. When you go to the galleries, click on the menu selector under the slices of bread at the bottom of the screen and go to "most recent" to get the entire gallery -- in 20-slice views. Each time you reach the end of one gallery, clicking on the arrow at the right of the screen will load the next "loaf."

You can make your own slice of bread by clicking on the "Make Art" button at the lower left side of the screen. It takes you to a "workshop" with an easel and a bunch of interactive tools. You can play around, clearing the canvas as often as you want until you get something you want to save. You can also upload art images. You can leave the bread untoasted or choose between several shades of toast. When you've got a piece you like, you save it and publish it to their gallery.

Ready. Set. Toast!!

Give a little green...

Green is the color of the day today, March 17. Many of you will be wearing green and I'm sure there will be plenty of green beer flowing in the pubs. For all I know, they may still dye the Chicago River green, too.

I'm talking about a different kind of green -- the stuff in your wallets. Back in December, I put out a call to donate to your local food bank. The needs are still there, in fact more pressing than ever considering the state of the economy. So please, take a minute today to find your local food bank and make a donation. In most cases, you can donate online in the form of groceries or cash and pay with a credit card. So simple.

Feeding America is a national network of over 200 food banks serving the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Enter your zip code in the Food Bank Locator in the sidebar on their homepage and it will give you a list of food banks in your area. If you live near me, the Santa Clara/San Mateo county food bank is Second Harvest and this link will take you directly to their website.

It is better to give than to receive...

As the holidays approach, our thoughts turn to gifts for friends and family. Most of us have everything we need, and the task of finding "the perfect gift" for someone can be exhausting. Maybe we should think outside the box!!

Señor Terremoto and I are blessed with enough to eat every day. For those who are struggling, the food banks are a life-saver -- literally! But the current economic conditions are seriously affecting donations to food banks and impairing their ability to serve the increasing number of people who need their help. So when I read in the paper this morning that some large Silicon Valley companies were foregoing their holiday parties this year and donating the monies they saved to the local food bank, it set me to thinking: What if I put a link to the food bank on my blog to raise awareness and encourage individuals to donate too? My blog is limited in its reach, but maybe the folks who read my blog will pass this idea along, and so on and so on, and together we can reach a much larger audience.

If you live in the California counties of Santa Clara or San Mateo, clicking on this link will take you to the local Second Harvest Food Bank website, where you can donate in a number of ways, including online. You can choose to purchase specific foods or make a secure cash donation (via credit card). What could be easier?

And if you live elsewhere, the Feeding America network (formerly America's Second Harvest) has affiliates all over the country. You just enter your zip code in their Food Bank Locator to find the nearest food bank.

Happy Holidays!!!