Dear Rachel Ray,
Thank you for taking up a cause dear to my heart: 9 million meals.
When celebrities bring things like hunger to light, it causes others to take note and you are a person of influence. Regardless of how many are ultimately fed, your support of this cause has already made a difference. People all over the country are becoming more aware and that alone makes a difference.
A few years back I did a Cookathon, where I cooked for 12 hours taking constant food challenges that had to be incorporated into the next dish. It was done to raise funds and food for the Food Bank SF.
Prior to that I had lived on a food stamp budget for two months, and even with the generosity of friends I lost weight and my health suffered. As I am sure you know, cuts have been made to that program and it is harder than ever to get help.
You have inspired me. I am going to make a public pledge on Huffington Post that I will work with any food bank or charity in the US or Canada and do as many 12-hour cooking sessions as are needed, to continue to raise funds and awareness. I am not kidding. If you feed people and have the means or sponsors to put on an event like this and want my participation, you've got it. If you have an idea for a different event I can be helpful with or lend my participation to, let me know. I am open.
You can contact me on twitter @FusionontheFly, Facebook, or do a more intensive Google search and send me an email or call.
You see Rachel Ray, 9 million meals is great but it won't end there. We need to keep this momentum going. We need to continue to make America aware that while many of us are trying to decide what to have for dinner, others do not have that luxury. They have no food, and they have no choice.
At one point in my life my mother worked 3 jobs to make sure her children never went hungry. I was fortunate to have a mother so determined, but in this economy there are many who can't get one job, or whose wages are too low to pay rent and purchase food.
The world has changed, but maybe, just maybe, we can push forth some changes for the better.