Blogging for Haiti

I was going to write up a post for some photos that have been waiting in the wings for a while, but writing about food--a fancy-sounding tart, no less--feels all kinds of wrong.

Having grown up in earthquake country, I know a bit about feeling the earth rumbling beneath one's feet. Last October, the Bay Area marked the 20th anniversary of our own 7.0 temblor, the Loma Prieta earthquake. But my experience with the effects of a large quake bears no resemblance to what's happened in Haiti.

We were (relatively) prepared. Haiti was not. Most of Haiti's construction is geared toward withstanding hurricanes, not earthquakes. The damage, as you've no doubt seen, is catastrophic.

I don't have the kind of traffic that will make a Beyond Ramen "comment for a donation" program much of a fundraiser, but what the heck: for each comment on this post between now and the end of the month I'll donate $1 to Médecins Sans Frontières, UNICEF, or the Red Cross, as you wish.

Here's some of what the food blogosphere is doing to help those affected by the quake in Haiti, as well as some links if you'd like to make additional donations.

The Pioneer Woman has a twofer going on: not only is she sponsoring a giveaway of two $500 donations to Haiti-related charities, she's also donating 10 cents for every entry in the giveaway.

Alice at Savory Sweet Life is donating $1 for every comment left on the linked post, up to $1000, through Sunday evening.

Saffron & Blueberry's Hilda is donating $10 for every comment on her blog (any post) through January 31.

Thursday Night Smackdown is donating a dollar for every comment left on the linked post through noon EST on Saturday (tomorrow).

Kay at the Keyboard is donating 50 cents for every comment left on the linked post, plus a matching bonus if you've already donated independently.

Amy Leavitt is doing a giveaway similar to Pioneer Woman's; see her page for details.

If you'd like to donate directly to one of the organizations I mentioned above, you can do so via the following links:

- Médecins Sans Frontières.

- UNICEF.

- American Red Cross. The Red Cross is also encouraging people to donate blood if they can.

It's worth noting that AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile are waiving text message fees when you text donations for Haiti. If you're concerned about the safety of text donations, see this summary. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express have also waived their fees for credit card transactions that go toward aid for Haiti.

I know these are tough times for many people, but it doesn't take a lot to make a difference. If you can't afford to donate anything yourself, please consider leaving a comment on one (or more!) of the blogs listed above, or right here, so that a donation can be made on your behalf. Every little bit helps.