A Call for Help: Japan

food for change blog – 4/21/11

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UPDATE: To aid in the relief process Rishi Tea has decided that 10% of any purchase made through its website will go directly to the Japanese Red Cross (www.jrc.or.jp). Visit rishi-tea.com/HelpJapan.php for more information.

The Food For Change blog has been on a bit of a hiatus as of late, mostly due to our live coverage of the 2011 sofi Awards, an annual competition that honors the most outstanding foods of the year. Unfortunately, since my last post, the tragic events in Japan began to unfold. Nearly two months later, countless people in the affected areas are still struggling to rebuild their lives.

If you haven’t kept up on the developments in Japan, its nuclear regulators—in response to the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant—raised the disaster’s severity from Level 5 to Level 7, on an international scale monitored by the Atomic Energy Agency, earlier this month. What does Level 7 mean? It wouldn’t be honest for me to say that I know exactly what determines these ratings, but what I do know is that the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl was Level 7 and that there is no Level 8.

Donate to Japan with Chocolate

Today, yet another earthquake hit eastern Japan, and on Wednesday, April 20^th, Japanese officials declared that the 12-mile area around the power plant is now considered a “No-Go Zone”, meaning citizens, for their own safety, could now face fines or detention if they are found in this area.

Sweet-Tooth Support

Although our global economy as a whole has seen better days, any support that can be offered to our brothers and sisters in Japan shows that we haven’t and will not forget about them. To support the Japanese efforts, Chuao Chocolatier, an artisan chocolate maker based in Carlsbad, Calif., has made donating to the cause a bit sweeter.

The company will donate one dollar for every Panko Chocolate Bar sold to support the American Red Cross’s Japanese efforts. The offer is available until April 30, 2011..

To support the cause with this offer, you can buy the bars here: Chuao Chocalatier Panko Bar Set.

Other Ways to Support Japan

The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), which brings you foodspring.com, issued a press release to its members calling for support in Japan. One grand gesture by an Association Member preceded this call. On March 16, Teas Tea maker ITO EN Group, which is based in Tokyo, donated 600,000 bottles of water and tea to the effort and said it “will donate an additional 400,000 bottles and $1.2 million to the victims of this catastrophic event.”

The original disaster in Japan was nearly two months ago, but the need for donations and support continues. Even a small donation from each person can have an impact. This post is essentially my call to you.

A list of organizations now collecting funds to support Japan is on the right. No donation is too small.