A Menu for Hope Starts Today and You Could Win a Lowel Ego Two-Light Set!

You know the holidays have arrived when it's time for Menu for Hope! If you're relatively new to the world of food blogs, you may not have heard of this annual fund-raising effort sponsored by Chez Pim and legions of food bloggers around the world, but Menu for Hope is in its sixth year. It's a lot of fun and raises money for a very good cause as well, with funds this year once again going to the United Nations World Food Program.

Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related items for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can participate. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual ticket to bid on an item of your choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18.

This year Menu for Hope funds will go to help a new initiative called Purchase for Progress. Also, in a symbolic move, we're joining the WFP's A Billion for A Billion campaign. For the first time ever, over a billion people are chronically hungry worldwide. There are also over a billion people who, like you and I, are in the position to help. Taking part in the Menu for Hope raffle and you can join the billion who chose to make a difference.

Again this year I'm donating this Lowel Ego Two Light Set. You can follow that link to read the description of the Lowel Lights from Amazon.com, where I'll be ordering the prize. The photo above shows how I use my Lowel Ego Lights, and although I prefer shooting photos of food with natural light when I can, I'm thrilled I can use my lights when natural light isn't available.

(After I read about the lights on Steamy Kitchen, I bought the bulbs and had a homemade set-up for a while, but this summer I bought the official two-light set, and not long ago I used the Lowel lights to shoot all the photos for a post. I was pretty happy with the results; check that post if you'd like to see how the lights work.)

Here's another view, showing you the back of the standing lights. Each light fixture has two bulbs, so it puts out a lot of light, and the set comes with a sweep table-top background (and colored backgrounds which I never use), as well as two white "bounce" boards (which I use all the time, even for shooting with natural light.)

Lowel EGO Two Light Set with Background and Bounces
Bid Item Code UW11
Prize donated by Kalyn's Kitchen
Can be shipped only within the continental U.S., sorry!

Above is the official photo of the Lowel Ego Two Light Set that appears on Amazon.com, so you'll see this photo at Chez Pim or Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef if you're looking for my prize.

Before I tell you how you can participate in Menu for Hope, I'd also like to put in a plug for BlogHer's fantastic bid item: free admission to BlogHer's summer conference in New York! Visit that link to read more about that generous prize, donated once again by Lisa Stone, Elisa Camahort, and Jory de Jardins of Blogher. Now, here's more about how you can participate.

Where to get More information about Menu for Hope:

You can see the full list of bid items for Menu for Hope at Chez Pim starting on Monday, December 14, or visit one of these regional hosts to see the prizes:
US: West Coast: Gluten Free Girl and the Chef
US: East Coast: Tartelette
Europe and the UK: David Lebovitz
Canada: Seven Spoons
Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand: Tomato
Wine Blog Host: Vinography

To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle:
1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Thanks for supporting Menu for Hope, and Good luck everyone! Have fun and give generously to help support the UN World Food Program!

(Check back on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18 for the results of the raffle.)