{"id":436,"date":"2007-12-14T11:19:37","date_gmt":"2007-12-14T11:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/14\/a-plea-for-the-menu-for-hope\/"},"modified":"2008-08-20T17:49:12","modified_gmt":"2008-08-20T17:49:12","slug":"a-plea-for-the-menu-for-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/14\/a-plea-for-the-menu-for-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"A Plea for the Menu for Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started out writing this post with a totally different sentiment than what I’m writing now. I wanted to highlight my prize as well as other Menu for Hope prizes (that’s coming). But I have to speak now about something that’s bothering me. <\/p>\n

We’re in Day 5 of the Menu for Hope<\/strong>. Halfway there (bidding continues until the 21st). The donated money isn’t even half of last year’s total<\/a>. I thought we would multiply exponentially again like we did from Year 2 to 3. <\/p>\n

The beauty of the Menu for Hope is that tons of food bloggers have reached deep into their own pockets to offer their time or homemade\/self-bought prizes that the received bids might not even cover in terms of costs! The point is, it’s really not about the prizes. The prizes are food bloggers’ way of saying thank-you to the bidders for supporting a great cause, the World Food Programme. But when YOU bid, you’re also thanking the prize donators and saying, I support what you, food blogger, are doing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best way for people to keep offering prizes is to generate enough bids to at least cover the costs of the prize itself – money that could have been donated directly instead by the prize provider. For example, this year I don’t have a prize sponsor and all of the items were purchased with cash. The ads on this site barely cover my hosting expenses and traffic increases from participating are negligible. <\/p>\n

But I am honestly thinking about donating the \u20ac150 (shipping, too!) directly to the Menu for Hope next year instead.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen very few non-food bloggers or food bloggers without a prize talking about the fundraiser, even though I know you’re reading our blogs. This is disappointing. Go through the prize list<\/a>, pick out 2-3 favorites and write about them! Send your readers to bid! Seeing as there’s no other blogger-driven fundraiser in action, what’s the harm?<\/p>\n

I have to say I’m more than a bit disappointed. But I’ll get over it.<\/p>\n

So, to motivate myself, instead of offering more food to my prize, I am going to motivate you to bid on my prize and to talk about the Menu for Hope. <\/strong><\/p>\n

First, what do you get?<\/strong> Besides a warm feeling….<\/p>\n