One "FEED 100" Bag = 100 Lunches for Rwandan Schoolchildren

OK, I have to say it: I love this bag, and the idea behind it. A sustainable burlap pouch unzips to reveal a very soft white organic cotton tote (nice fabric), with some silk screened lettering that suggests CARE package labeling. But it’s also more than a tote: each purchase funds 100 lunches in the UN World Food Programme’s school lunch program in Rwanda.

The bags aren’t super cheap, and this is a Whole Foods-exclusive product (I try not to promote specific companies or stores on the blog, but sometimes the product makes me break my own rules). The cool thing, though: Whole Foods’ goal is to fund the UNWFP’s entire school lunch program in Rwanda for 2008, primarily through the sale of these bags. You can learn more about the program and see bag photos here. The bags are a bit pricey: $29.95 at my local store. But I thougt it was worth it to buy lunch for 100 kids. I’m also considering these as gifts for some upcoming birthdays: a nice combo of a cool tote bag and being able to tell the recipient they just bought lunch for 100 very sweet children. (Of course, I just blew the surprise for friends and family who have summer birthdays!)

Today’s mitzvah: Check out the cool bags. You can also always help the UN World Food Programme at no cost by playing our favorite vocabulary game over at Free Rice.

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Goof Off for a Good Cause: The Rice Game

“What if just knowing what a word meant could help feed hungry people around the world? Well, at FreeRice it does . . . the totals have grown exponentially.” - The Washington Post

Back at work today? Stuck on a long conference call? Here’s a way to play an online game, build your vocabulary — and give the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) a free contribution for every word you get right.

I posted about Free Rice last December, but I thought it was time to spotlight this program again. A global rice shortage means prices for this staple crop have risen 68% just since January. Governments in several poorer countries have called out the military to supervise sales, and even the U.S. and UK are seeing some stores limiting sales to discourage hoarding. All the more reason to help out even in a small way, with The Rice Game.

The lure is a vocabulary game: choose the correct definition for a word, “win” 20 grains of rice for the UNWFP. Does 20 grains per word really amount to much? Saturday’s total: 133,619,760 grains of rice donated (March’s total = 4,109,191,320 grains). It adds up quickly. Happy procrastination, word games, and giving to a good cause. What could be better?

Today’s mitzvah: Play the Rice Game today — you’ll be hooked! And hungry people will benefit from our fun.

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The Rice Game

How’s your vocabulary? Our favorite person in North Carolina and I both recently discovered a beautifully designed site called Free Rice that combines an addictive word game with donations to the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP).

I love this one. The Free Rice home page lists a word and four possible definitions. Choose the correct definition, and the site’s sponsors donate 20 grains of rice to the UNWFP. One can play all day — I’m not kidding about the addictive element! How much impact does 20 grains of rice/word really have? Look at the site totals: more than 372 million grains of rice yesterday — and counting.

Today’s mitzvah: Test your vocabulary (and help out a good cause) at the Free Rice web site.

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