Lending Hand - International Food Bloggers Auction for Japan

Natural disasters happen time and again, but always take us by surprise and jolt our everyday lives by bringing into stark reality the transience of the today and now. Yet, catastrophic events bring out the best in human spirit, Hope, Love, Generosity… it’s resilience allows for rebirth and rebuilding long after the destructive event has left its indelible mark on land and in the hearts of the people.

During times of duress, many of us turn to food for comfort and all of us food bloggers, are gifted in some way to provide that comfort to those in need. I wanted to help the relief effort and thought that using our passion for food to raise awareness and funds would be a great way of helping and hence the idea of an auction was born.

In an effort to lend a helping hand (humble as it may be) and in support of the perseverance of human spirit, a small group of international food bloggers have come together to put their passion for food to a charitable cause.

The International Food Bloggers Auction for Japan is a contributive effort from these bloggers to raise funds for the Japanese Red Cross Society towards their disaster relief efforts. Each blogger has pledged an item that will be auctioned to be sold to the highest bidder.

Our thanks to Australian food legends Maggie Beer, Margaret Fulton and Stephanie Alexander for supporting our effort by giving us signed copies of their cookbooks for the auction. Peanut Butter & Co., a NYC based local peanut butter company has also pledged a fabulous Peanut Butter & Jelly Picnic Basket for our auction.

Details of the pledges are included below. The auction will run live from March 23 to April 10, during which period, readers may bid on as many items as they wish. Once the auction closes and the highest bidder is identified, the person will receive the item that he/she bid for and the bid amount will be donated to Japanese Red Cross in entirety.

Below are the rules of the auction –

1. Auction Period: March 23, 2011 to April 10, 2011.


2. The auction is open to all readers across the globe. Availability of items is as indicated in the Auction Bid Form.


3. Bid entries are to be made using the Auction Bid Form.


4. Bidding can be for one or more items. Multiple bids from the same bidder will be accepted and highest bid will be taken into account. Minimum and High bids for each item will be made available at the end of each day.


5. Auction closes at 12pm EST, April 10, 2011. Highest bidders and bid amounts will be revealed in a post by April 12, 2011.


6. Winners will be asked to transfer the pledged amount through PayPal, which, will then be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society via Google Crisis Response.


7. Winners will receive their items within two weeks of the reveal post announcing the winners.

Participating Bloggers and Items Pledged -

• Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen – 1 box each of a dozen assorted Eggless Decorated Sugar Cookies to 2 of the highest bidders


• Asha of Fork Spoon Knife – Breakfast Basket with Homemade Granola with Fruits and Nuts, Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Jam


• Asha of Fork Spoon Knife– PB & J Picnic Basket, sponsored by Peanut Butter & Co. Hamper includes 1 large picnic basket with 8 jars of a variety of peanut butters from Dark Chocolate Dreams to Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, 3 jars of fruit preserves and jelly, 1 jar of peanut pretzels and a Peanut Cookbook


• Liren of Kitchen Confidante - Afternoon Tea Basket, inspired by her husband's family who spent 5 years in Japan. It will have a freshly baked loaf of our family's Buttermilk Banana Bread, a tin of Samovar Green Tea, and a few other Bay Area goodies


• Simone of Junglefrog Cooking – Traditional Dutch Basket with many Dutch food items like stroopwafels, Dutch Cheese and much more and also Muider schipperbitter which is a typical Dutch alcoholic drink


• Trissa of Trissalicious – Signed copies of cookbooks from Australian cooking icons Maggie Beer, Margaret Fulton and Stephanie Alexander


• Vanille of At Down Under – Kiwi Basket with 1 pot of NZ organic Manuka honey (J.Friend & Co - 160g), 1 pot of NZ organic Kamahi honey (J.Friend & Co - 160g), 1 bottle of Feijoa and limeblossom juiced tea (Teza - 325ml) and a reusable shopping bag (Ooid Design - 100% Organic cotton)

Finally, there are so many ways you can help us raise funds other than the obvious choice of bidding. An effort like this can only be successful with all of your help, especially, in spreading the word and make more people aware of the event. Please feel free to tweet about it and share this post through other social media.

Thank you very much for helping make this fundraiser impactful! Also, please leave me a comment notification when you have submitted a bid.

The Auction is now OPEN and LIVE!!